Cosmic Funk Explained

Cosmic Funk
Type:Album
Artist:Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes
Cover:Cosmic Funk.jpg
Released:1974
Recorded:April 1974
Studio:New York City
Genre:Jazz-funk[1]
Length:35:41
Label:RCA/Flying Dutchman
BDL 1-0591
Producer:Bob Thiele
Chronology:Lonnie Liston Smith
Prev Title:Astral Traveling
Prev Year:1973
Next Title:Expansions
Next Year:1975

Cosmic Funk is an album by keyboardist Lonnie Liston Smith, featuring performances recorded in 1974 and released by the Flying Dutchman label.[2]

Jason Heller, in Strange Stars: How Science Fiction and Fantasy Transformed Popular Music, pointed to the title track as an example of "sci-fi funk."[3]

Reception

In his review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine stated, "it's a record where the good ideas are sometimes suggested rather than developed. ... That opening song is one of the few tracks that emphasizes funk, otherwise the cosmic reigns, as the group usually getting spacy all the while never quite leaving the earth. ... the album is distinguished by the spaces that lie between funk and bop, the periods where Smith and company start to float, then pull themselves back."

Record Collector called the album "funky spiritual jazz."[4]

Track listing

All compositions by Lonnie Liston Smith except where noted

  1. "Cosmic Funk" − 5:35
  2. "Footprints" (Wayne Shorter) − 6:08
  3. "Beautiful Woman" − 6:57
  4. "Sais (Egypt)" (James Mtume) − 8:15
  5. "Peaceful Ones" − 5:03
  6. "Naima" (John Coltrane) − 4:02

Personnel

Notes and References

  1. Web site: BeatCaffeine's 100 Best Jazz-Funk Songs . https://web.archive.org/web/20180825081205/https://beatcaffeine.com/100-best-jazz-funk-songs/ . Gorton . TJ . BeatCaffeine . July 30, 2018 . August 25, 2018 . September 19, 2021.
  2. http://www.bsnpubs.com/new/flyingdutchman.pdf Flying Dutchman Label Discography
  3. Book: Heller, Jason. Strange Stars: How Science Fiction and Fantasy Transformed Popular Music. June 5, 2018. Melville House. 9781612196985. Google Books.
  4. Web site: Reflections Of A Golden Dream - Record Collector Magazine. recordcollectormag.com.