Expansions

Be warned: there is a strong element of "smooth" jazz here. There's a good amount of soprano sax and breeziness that may be off-putting to you if you're not thorougly into EVERYTHING from the 70's.

But to be fair, the Cosmic Echoes' sound here is equally characterized by some very dank bass lines, excellent drumming, latin percussion, and the great piano/electric synthesizer work of Smith himself. At many points, just when the music seems about to sway into the schmaltz realm, Smith shows up with some spacey organ to remind you that this is more about a lazy, burnt-out afternoon by the pool than a trip to Sears.

Smith's brother contributes some high pitched, Marvin Gaye-esque vocals on a couple of tracks that some people may like, while some people may wish weren't there. The lyrics to these songs are pretty idealistic, which is a nice way of saying "dated," and the delivery again is breezy--- almost at odds in certain points (particularly on the title track) with the knotty funk being laid down by the rhythm section.

But given time and taken on its own terms, "Expansions" reveals itself to be a great summer album. It's happy, it's bright, it's silky, it's funky.