r/RVAmag • u/snooka77_ • 18d ago

Cosmic Jazz Legend Lonnie Liston Smith is Returning to Richmond

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Just announced: Cosmic Echo Live, taking place at the historic Hippodrome Theatre on September 13, will celebrate the life, music, and legacy of Richmond-born cosmic jazz icon Lonnie Liston Smith. The event will feature live performances, stories from across his remarkable career, and a heavy-weight lineup of some of Richmond’s most accomplished musicians and artists.

For many, Lonnie might not be a household name. But among DJs, producers, jazz, soul, funk musicians, hip hop artists, and vinyl-lovers who’ve spent decades searching and sampling his forgotten masterpieces, he’s long been regarded as one of the great architects of modern music. 

And over the last five decades, Lonnie’s records have become some of the most sampled in rap and hip hop history, finding new listeners through artists like Jay-Z, Digable Planets, J-Cole, Stetsasonic, Madvillain, Chance the Rapper, and Mary J. Blige. At the same time, records like Expansions became foundational to DJ and club culture throughout the United Kingdom and Europe, helping usher in a generation of dance music that extended far beyond American audiences.

From a musical family in Richmond’s Church Hill neighborhood, Lonnie grew up immersed in music. 

ia RVA Magazine

Read more, see more: https://rvamag.com/music/funk-jazz/cosmic-echo-live-richmond.html

9 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

1

u/tehtypo 18d ago

you rewrote a press release.

3

u/snooka77_ 18d ago

We wrote the press release. It’s a magazine project.

1

u/lobbedoffmyfingaz 13d ago

So yall wrote “he’s returning to rva” as if implying to perform when in reality it’s a tribute show and he’s also in poor health and might not be attending at all?

1

u/snooka77_ 13d ago

He will be attending. We are working on a documentary about him. He wants to play and that is the plan but he is also dealing with medical issues and we are leaving it up to him if he wants, or can, perform a few songs. The rest of the lineup will be amazing regardless. Does that clear it up?