Departure

Sad news in the jazz world today: A master of the jazz organ, Dr. Lonnie Smith, has left us.

Not to be confused, as he sometimes is, with Lonnie Liston Smith, another jazz keyboard great.

"Doctor" got his name because he would "doctor up" just about any tune and give it a groove nobody ever thought it woud have. The breadth of the guy's taste was truly amazing.

He was here for the Portland Jazz Festival just a few years ago, and I am thrilled to have been in the room. The man had the music in his hands. So long, Doc.