Jazz artist Lonnie Smith to perform for the first time in Asheville at Isis Music Hall

Press Release

From Charlie Traveler Presents:

Legendary Jazzman and Hammond B3 guru, the father of acid-jazz, Dr. Lonnie Smith is coming to Asheville for the first time to perform at Isis!

Isis Restaurant & Music Hall
743 Haywood Rd.
Asheville, NC 28806
(828) 575-2737
www.isisasheville.com
March 21 || 8pm || All Ages || $25adv. / $30d.o.s.
TICKETS: http://public.ticketbiscuit.com/IsisAsheville/ticketing/189678

Dr. Lonnie Smith is an unparalleled musician, composer, performer and recording artist. An authentic master and guru of the Hammond B-3 organ for over five decades, he has been featured on over seventy albums, and has recorded and performed with a virtual “Who’s Who” of the greatest jazz, blues and R&B giants in the industry. Consequently, he has often been hailed as a “Legend,” a “Living Musical Icon,” and as the most creative jazz organist by a slew of music publications. Charlie Traveler Presents is very pleased to announce a performance from Dr. Lonnie Smith and his Trio, live at Isis Restaurant & Music Hall on Friday March 21. This will be the debut performance of the good Doctor here in Asheville and the only performance in this area at all.

Born in Buffalo, New York, Lonnie was blessed with the gift of music. In the late ‘50s– with the encouragement of Art Kubera, who owned a local music store that he would visit daily–young Lonnie was given the opportunity to learn how to play a Hammond organ. By completely immersing himself in the records of organists such as Wild Bill Davis, Bill Doggett and Jimmy Smith, as well as paying rapt attention to the church organ, a young Lonnie began to find his musical voice. “Even though I didn’t know how, I was able to play right from the beginning,” Dr. Smith reflects. “I learned how to work the stops and that was it. It’s a passion for me, so everything else came naturally.” Because of Mr. Kubera’s kindness, Dr. Lonnie often refers to Art as his “angel.”

Smiths’ unpredictable, insatiable musical taste illustrates that no genre is safe, as
Lonnie has recorded everything from covers of the Beatles, the Stylistics and
the Eurythmics, to tribute albums of Jimi Hendrix, John Coltrane and Beck–all by employing ensembles ranging from a trio to a fifteen-piece big band. Moreover, many of Doc’s recent compositions reflect dramatic ethereal qualities and orchestration that elicit movie scores or soundtracks. Dr. Smith has been amused to find himself sampled in rap, dance and house grooves while being credited as a forefather of acid jazz. When questioned about his consistent interest in music some consider outside the jazz “mainstream,” Lonnie shrugs. “Jazz is American Classical,” he proclaims. “And this music is a reflection of what’s happening at the time… The organ is like the sunlight, rain and thunder…it’s all the worldly sounds to me!”

Since 1969, when Downbeat magazine named him “Top Organist” of that year, Dr. Lonnie Smith has won a plethora of critics’ polls as the world’s premier organist/keyboardist. Moreover, he was recently inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame, as well as the Jazz Organ Fellowship’s Hall of Fame. In 2012, Dr, Smith launched his own record label Pilgrimage Productions. The Healer, a live recording of Doc’s trio is the first release on his label.

– for more information on Dr. Lonnie Smith please visit his website, www.drlonniesmith.com

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About Hayley Benton
Current freelance journalist and artist. Former culture/entertainment reporter at the Asheville Citizen-Times and former news reporter at Mountain Xpress. Also a coffee drinker, bad photographer, teller of stupid jokes and maker-upper of words. I can be reached at hayleyebenton [at] gmail.com. Follow me @HayleyTweeet

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