He played organ, looked like a preacher, but Dr. Lonnie Smith was a jazz musician. RIP

I had a feeling that Dr. Lonnie Smith still played with passion even after 50 years on stage. The secret may be, that he truly improvises. He may have not even known, what tune he was going to play next. There was no true beginning or end to his trio concert. It started when he felt he was ready after 30 minutes on tingling and ended, when the organizer told him that he was playing way past the bedtime of the Village of Unionville. Self taught organist Lonnie Smith played trumpet first. I understand that he got the organ (he called it the Beast) for free at Buffalo music store. He learned quickly and soon he was played in Buffalo night spots. Mr. Smith was quite chatty in the second half of the concert, but sometimes he just mumbled. He was spotted by guitarist George Benson and soon they were playing together. He was starting to become known in the mid 1960's. He died at 79, on Sep 28, 2021.

 

93. Unionville, 20. Aug 2016, P1160525; Uploaded 30. Sep 2021. Lmx -ZS100.

 

 

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