Cosmic Funk & Spiritual Sounds

By the time Smith made his first album as a leader he had extensive experience as a sideman. He had worked with Max Roach, Art Blakey and Roland Kirk. Then he joined up with Pharaoh Sanders, playing on his hit album Karma. He worked with Gato Barbieri and played on Miles Davis' album On The Corner. His success with Miles led to a deal with Flying Dutchman where he released five albums, the best tracks of which are featured here.

Lonnie mixed his talent for accessible jazz with a philosophy of peace and understanding and his music was tagged Cosmic Jazz. His third album Expansions proved to be the breakthrough and the title track, featured here, is one of the most instantly recognisable in the world of jazz funk and dance music. It is an anthem of the UK club scene, sampled and covered on numerous occasions. Lonnie is a hero to both the UK soul boys and the world-wide Acid Jazz crew.

This compilation is mastered directly from the original tapes. Expansions, A Chance For Peace and Get Down Everybody (It's Time For World Peace) and the rest have never sounded better. Lonnie's beautiful jazz playing rings out on the tracks Meditations and Astral Traveling. The booklet includes an exclusive interview with Lonnie, who discussed his career and his influences recently.