Evolution (2016)

"With 2016's "Evolution", Hammond B-3 specialist Smith returns to Blue Note, his first studio album for the label since 1970. Produced by Don Was, "Evolution" is one of the most robust albums of his career. Where his previous few albums found him working in a trio format, on "Evolution", Was surrounds Smith with various small group configurations featuring a bevy of post-bop, funk, and soul-ready musicians including drummers Jonathan Blake and Joe Dyson, guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg, trumpeters Keyon Harrold and Maurice Brown, and others. Also joining Smith here are several jazz luminaries including genre-bending pianist Robert Glasper, whose glassy piano tone rubs nicely against Smith's burnished Hammond warmth on "Play It Back." Similarly, saxophonist Joe Lovano joins in on several cuts. Ultimately, it's Smith's juicy, nuanced, Hammond B-3 sound, deepened by over 50 years of experience, that makes "Evolution" such a career pinnacle." (Matt Collar, 4 uit 5 sterren)