FunkFreak75 As a contingent of Jazz-Rock Fusion artists moves closer to the Smooth, Easy Listening, Adult Contemporary Jazz we find a few leaders in the group. Lonnie and his loyal band of Cosmic Echoes are in that leadership role and this album is one of the earliest and finest masterpieces of the movement.

A1. "A Chance For Peace" (5:18) opens like a heavier, funkier version of Herbie Hancock's "Hidden Shadows" before Donald Smith's Vernon White-like vocal and horn accents join in to present a WAR-like tune. Great groove! It also sounds like it could come from something composed by Barry White for his Love Unlimited Orchestra or War's "Slippin' into Darkness." I love the wah-wah-ed rhythm guitar, the Arp strings, the usual multiple percussionists hard at work, and, of course, Lonnie's pedaled and oscillating Fender Rhodes. Donald's vocal performance is so unusual for him--that natural smooth beauty is ameliorated by trying the direct, hard-punching approach more common to Vernon White and War's Howard Brown. Great song! (9.333/10)

A2. "Love Beams" (4:07) beautiful lazy-day-I'm-in-Heaven float music over which Donald return his beautiful flute playing. A song that could be repeated ad infinitum for the creation of a state permanent bliss. (10/10)

A3. "Colors Of The Rainbow" (5:53) Donald and Lonnie lining up again to worship the Earth Goddess. Beautiful music that succeeds in chasing out any and all demons of stress and anxiety. (9/10)

A4. "Devika (Goddess)" (5:14) beautiful love funk as "told" through Dave Hubbard's sweet saxophone. Greg Maker's laid-back bass play is so uber-cool! (9.25/10)

B1. "Sunset" (4:10) gentle late-night love-lounging music, perfect for sitting with one's cocktail on the tropical vacation home's veranda watching the sunset. Evokes one's natural stress reduction. Could use a little more dynamics, variation, or development. (8.875/10)

B2. "Visions Of A New World (Phase I)" (2:08) roiling ocean piano bottom turns into a rainbow of flitting, flying notes, prompting Donald to join in singing in his usual celestial voice, soaring high above the piano as he goes beyond words. (4.625/5)

B3. "Visions Of A New World (Phase II)" (3:40) a percussion-fronted weave of gentle funk that suggests dancing--both slow dancing (with a partner) and fast dancing independently. The groove is definitely infectious, ending far sooner than the feet and core want it to. Could be another love theme to a scene in a Black sexploitation film. On a level near to that of Kool & The Gang's "Summer Madness." (9.125/10)

B4. "Summer Nights" (5:05) Man! can these guys match their music with their titles! Another great late night groove that seems to continue the mood set up by Side Two's opening song "Sunset." My guess is that the two were intended to kind of bookend the side as they do. Great work from Lonnie on both his Fender and his Arp strings play in support. I love the effects he's using on the Fender Rhodes on both his richly-textured left hand as well as the Vangelis Blade Runner-like lead up top. The use of Donald's very understated voice as a support instrument for the main melody as well as his almost-whispered slow repetition of the song title is so perfect! (9.25/10)

Total Time 34:55

Some of the greatest smooth mood music you'll ever hear. There is not a lot of dynamic jazz here but there are very few albums or artists that you will ever hear who so master the gentle moods as Lonnie and the Echoes do here. There is such little need for flash here: as a matter of fact it would be a detriment to the perfection of this music if anyone involved was seeking ego stroking. There really are no egos here! Just a collective trying to administer peace and bliss to the world.

A/five stars; a perfect album of Smooth Jazz: so smooth and yet somehow still maintaining the integrity of jazz through a gentle kind of funk.

Sean Trane Fourth LL-S album and the third sporting the Cosmic Echoes name, but again very few musicians participated to the previous CF album, with only percussionist Killan and Don Smith remaining. To be honest, outside LL-S himself, most of the musos are totally unknown to me, despite the vast amount of them intervening on the album. But while only conga player Ray Armando’s name rings a bell, the others are definitely holding their ranks and we’re faced with another good soul-jazz-funk album. With its huge gatefold artwork showing LL-S in a prayer position, sporting his fetish yellow bonnet, the album continues the slow slide from the Trane-galaxy fusion towards a generally more-mainstream soul-jazz.

Right from the ultra-funky bass notes from the opening Chance For Peace, you can hear the palpable slide further towards soul-jazz and away from his early albums (Astral Travelling), and if there are some rather cool percs, great rhythms, solid horn lines and excellent vocals of Donald Smith, we’re definitely not far away from WAR. Much milder is the mid-tempo Love Beams where, despite Smith’s flute, one can’t help but be bored. And if that wasn’t enough cheese, get a load of Colours Of The Rainbow, a very slow ballad, filled with wind chimes and slow Rhodes layers. Not bad per se, but very kitsch. The closing Devika is much more interesting with its cosmic ARP synth layers, excellent congas and plenty of tempo changes.

The flipside doesn’t start in the best of manners, since the opening Sunset could be the twin brother (but sung) of the Rainbow track, but the two-part title track is setting the counter backwards, with some excellent Alice C.-type of fusion, with delicious piano in the intro, then veering up-tempo funky, not far away from Devika. The closing Summer Nights returns to the cheesy Sunset and Rainbow moods.

Yet another Cosmic Echoes album, one close to the rock idiom than the jazz one, but to be honest LL-S’ better musical days as a creator were already behind him. Too poppy for me, despite a few still very bright moments, but Visions Of A New World remains in the straight line trajectory of Liston. Definitely a bit inferior to his previous two Cosmic Echoes album.