Lonnie Liston Smith moved from RCA to Columbia with
Loveland, an LP that is sleek and commercial but not without heart or creativity. While
Loveland fared well among fans of fusion, crossover and R&B, the keyboardist had long since lost the attention of acoustic jazz's hardcore, which asserted that he had turned his back on his roots and was no longer playing jazz. But in fact, jazz is essentially what
Smith is playing on
Loveland, although it's jazz mixed with soul, funk and pop. "We Can Dream "(which features
Donald Smith on vocals) is strictly R&B, but instrumentals like "Sunburst," "Explorations" and "Springtime Magic" are basically an extension of the spiritual post-bop
Smith had played with
Pharoah Sanders,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk and
Gato Barbieri. In fact, one of the high points of this LP is an interpretation of
Kirk's "Bright Moments." On these spiritual performances,
Smith isn't divorcing himself from the influence of
Sanders,
Kirk,
John Coltrane and
McCoy Tyner--he's simply combining it with a passion for soul and pop.
Loveland falls short of the excellence of Expansions, Visions of a New World or Astral Traveling, but it's still an enjoyable collection of mood music. ~ Alex Henderson