Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes Renaissance Vinyl LP Record Album

$

20

This listing is for Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes – Renaissance Vinyl LP Record Album APL1-1822.
Label: RCA Victor – APL1-1822 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Gatefold Country: US Released: 1976 Genre: Jazz, Funk / Soul Style: Space-Age, Jazz-Funk  
Condition:   Jacket:     Good (wear & seam splits top/bottom)         Vinyl:  Good
Tracklist:
A1 Space Lady 6:40 A2 Mardi Gras (Carnival) 6:02 A3 Starlight And You 5:21 B1 Mongotee 5:44 B2 A Song Of Love 4:05 B3 Between Here And There 2:36 B4 Renaissance 4:53
Lonnie Liston Smith Jr. (born December 28, 1940) is an American jazz, soul, and funk musician who played with such jazz artists as Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis before forming Lonnie Liston Smith and the Cosmic Echoes, recording a number of albums widely regarded as classics in the fusion, smooth jazz and acid jazz genres.
The Cosmic Echoes (1973–85) While passing through Miles Davis' ever-changing line-up, Smith had finally formed his own group, 'Lonnie Liston Smith and the Cosmic Echoes' in 1973, together with his partner in Pharoah Sanders group, Cecil McBee, on bass, George Barron (soprano and tenor sax), Joe Beck (guitar), David Lee, Jr. (drums), James Mtume (percussion), Sonny Morgan (percussion), Badal Roy (tabla drums), and Geeta Vashi (tamboura). Blending atmospheric fusion, soul and funk, Smith was encouraged by Bob Thiele, the owner of Flying Dutchman Records, who had produced both Pharoah Sanders' and Gato Barbieri's output while Smith had been in their bands, the latter for Thiele's newly formed label. For his debut album, Astral Traveling (Flying Dutchman, 1973), Smith re-recorded the title song he had composed and played on with the Pharoah Sanders band two years previous. An instrumental album, Astral Travelling also contained a re-arrangement of the gospel standard "Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord", which Smith had also previously arranged for Sanders.
"I enjoyed the directness of this at first—piano improvisations striding over solid multi-percussion, in the spirit of Smith's former leader, Gato Barbieri, without the manic harshness. Then I begin to hanker for some harshness. It's not just the strings, which are at least as intelligent as, say, Alice Coltrane's, and less ubiquitous. It's also the rhythms themselves, serving a purpose so expanded and cosmic that it's not even spiritual anymore, thus rendering their connection to the body irrelevant." —Review of Expansions in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981)
The following year Smith's brother, Donald, joined the Cosmic Echoes as vocalist for Cosmic Funk (Flying Dutchman, 1974). Although he remained close to his earlier roots with featured versions of Wayne Shorter's "Footprints" and John Coltrane's "Naima" on this album, by now Smith was heading into the smooth jazz funk/fusion style that would dominate his output from here on, with dreamy vocals and long, spacy instrumental passages underlaid by strong funky bass-lines and a distinctive use of light percussion, with a message of peace and tranquillity in both the lyrics and song titles. "I was trying to expand the consciousness of humanity" explained Smith in an interview in 2009.
This attitude may not have endeared Smith to the hardcore free jazz fans who had appreciated his earlier work, but this new relaxed fusion style proved popular with a cross-over audience not normally associated with jazz, and the following albums, Expansions (Flying Dutchman, 1974), Visions of a New World (Flying Dutchman, 1975) and Reflections of a Golden Dream (RCA, 1976) have since become mainstays of the jazz-funk and chill jazz genres with DJs and audiences worldwide, especially in Europe and Japan. Renaissance (RCA, 1977) continued this crossover fame, and the following year Smith expanded upon his success with a new contract with Columbia Records and two further crossover albums in Loveland (Columbia, 1978) and Exotic Mysteries (Columbia, 1978), the latter containing the single "Space Princess" which became a disco/R&B hit popular in clubs today in both 7" and remixed 12" versions. "Space Princess" was written by, and featured the bass lines of 16-year-old Marcus Miller, who was discovered by Smith and also wrote the track "Night Flower" on Exotic Mysteries. A further track from the same album, "Quiet Moments", was to become a mainstay of the smooth jazz genre over the next decade.
After the crossover success of the 1970s, and continuing interest in and discovery of his earlier work by fans of the new "Quiet Storm" late-night radio/smooth jazz format, Smith moved to Bob Thiele's new label, Doctor Jazz, and had a minor hit in 1983 with "Never Too Late". He also appeared in Marvin Gaye's backing band at the 1980 Montreux Jazz Festival, which has since been released on both CD and DVD (Eagle Vision, 2003). However, public interest slowly waned in his newer material as the decade wore on, and the Cosmic Echoes eventually dissipated during the mid-1980s after releasing a further three albums, Dreams of Tomorrow (Doctor Jazz, 1983), Silhouettes (Doctor Jazz, 1984) and Rejuvenation (Doctor Jazz, 1985).
The story of how Smith came to join Bob Thiele at Thiele's new label is told on the LP cover notes to Dreams of Tomorrow by Leonard Feather. Clearly Smith was at a cross roads. The reuniting with Thiele brought Smith full circle for Thiele was partly responsible for supporting Smith's early work. Thiele's new record label 'Doctor Jazz' (distributed through PRT in the UK) provided the perfect platform for Smith to showcase his new and critically acclaimed work of the early to mid 1980s. For Dreams of Tomorrow, Smith enlisted the vocal talents of his younger brother Donald Smith for the album's opener A Lonely Way To Be and side two's stunning opening Never Too Late. A major musician on the album was Marcus Miller on bass guitar. David Hubbard plays a series of saxophones and flutes on the album, with Yogi Horton, Buddy Williams and Steve Thornton leading on drums and percussion. The album relaunched Smith and the 'Doctor Jazz' albums are now considered amongst Smith's finest work. The Dreams of Tomorrow sessions were produced by Marcus Miller.

CONDITION Descriptions:
I base the condition of each of my Records off of Ebay's Grading System. 

• MINT (M) Looks new and unplayed. Very high vinyl luster and no noticeable label defects. Sounds new. With 45rpm records, this does not always mean there is no surface noise at all. 
• NEAR MINT (NM) Looks almost new, but has some minor flaws such as a drill hole; unobtrusive writing on label (e.g., an X on a promo copy); minor scuffing on vinyl; minor color flaking on label, or other insignificant flaws that only slightly detract from visual appeal. May have some minor surface noise, but nothing distracting. 
• VERY GOOD (VG) There may be light scuffing and some of the original vinyl luster may be lost. The vinyl and label may appear used, but well cared for. Records may have some more obvious flaws that are not visually degrading such as a sticker on the label; more noticeable writing on the label; scuffing and minor scratches on the vinyl; or minor discoloration of the label. There may be very minor warping of the vinyl. There may be a slight scratch not affecting play. 
• GOOD (G) Record has visible signs of handling and playing, such as loss of vinyl luster, minor surface scratches, groove wear, and audible surface noise. Appears well used but not abused. May have a few major flaws, such as scratches, label tears, or stickers, and/or writing. 
• FAIR (F) Appears well used and somewhat abused. Audio is not great due to surface noise and scratches. The record may have a stick or a skip. Records in this condition are those you might purchase to fill a hole in your collection until a better copy comes along. 
• POOR (P) Well played with little luster and significant surface noise, but still not cracked or broken. Record likely skips and/or sticks. Typically so bad looking that a true “collector” would just toss it out. More useful as a Frisbee. I try not to sell records in this condition.
Thanks for checking out this item!  We have many related items listed, so be sure to check our other listings for similar items!  We DO combine orders for savings on shipping so add multiples to your cart.  Reasonable offers are highly considered, unreasonable ones are not... :-)!  Still have a ton of "not listed" inventory, so if you looking for something specific, please inquire as we may just be able to find it for you.  We ship 6 days a week, so the faster you pay, the faster we ship!  Thanks again for your visit and even more so if you purchase something!  Im sure you will be as happy as we are!