Lonnie Liston Smith

Lonnie Liston Smith is an American pianist and keyboard player from Richmond, Virginia, born in 1940. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Music Education and an honorary doctorate from Morgan State University and has performed with Betty Carter, Art Blakey, and Miles Davis. His original music with the Cosmic Echoes has influenced the genres of smooth jazz, jazz funk, acid jazz, and hip hop. Scott Gray Douglass is a bassist and teacher also from Richmond, born in 1984. He is writing a book based on the oral histories of Richmond’s jazz musician educators. The two spoke by telephone in September of 2021. The following conversation is edited for clarity. Footnotes are provided by the co-author for context.