"Few artistic partnerships are as delightfully durable as the trio of organist Larry Goldings, guitarist Peter Bernstein, and drummer Bill Stewart. "Ramshackle Serenade" finds this group covering a lot of ground. The album opens with Goldings' "Roach" a slow blues in five which proves to be one of the standout performances. Goldings and Bernstein both cook while Stewart masterfully slices up the time in endlessly inventive ways. The trio then visits Brazilian territory with Jobim's "Luiza". The title track is all about rubato rumination, as Goldings and Bernstein paint melodies while Stewart lightly colors in the background. Goldings' "Mr. Meagles" is a great example of the way this trio manages to create music that speaks relatively softly and carries a mean groove. "Sweet And Lovely" grows hotter over time, followed by a pair of originals and an album-closing look at Horace Silver's "Peace." After all these years, this trio still manages to make magic." (Dan Bilawsky, Allaboutjazz; 4,5 uit 5 sterren)
"One has to wonder why it took over five years for this 1994 recording to make its debut. Certainly the quality is up to Criss Cross standards and the spirit of the session is unquestionably robust. Still, now that Brad Mehldau, Mark Turner, and Peter Bernstein (the first letters of their last names gives us M.T.B.) have become more established artists, this peek at an earlier effort is sure to initiate some lively discussion. In the cases of Turner and Bernstein their performances seem pretty much true to form. However, Mehldau sounds so strong with this expanded line-up that one longs to hear him shed the trio thing he seems so hell bent on driving into the ground these days." (www.allaboutjazz.com)
"Guitarist Peter Bernstein, organist Larry Goldings and drummer Bill Stewart have been playing together for many years, holding down a regular gig at the Smalls jazz club when their schedules allow. This is a nice example of their regular gig, beginning with Chant" which shows the trio playing in a mellow laid back groove, with the organ bubbling and simmering like a thick stew. The highlight of the performance is a performance of the classic Miles Davis standard Milestones" beginning with science fiction/Sun Ra sounding organ effects, Bernstein takes the lead with a pithy statement of the familiar melody and builds upon it along with a strong fast organ led groove section. There is a spacious interlude for Stewart's drums, developing a loud soft dynamic before a restatement of the melody and conclusion. This is a solid group, interacting and listening to each other closely, creating solid mainstream jazz through communicating and dialogue development." (Tim Niland, Music And More)
"Organist Lonnie Smith heeft in zijn leven nog nooit een universitaire graad behaald. Waarschijnlijk heeft hij van de doctorstitel gebruik gemaakt om de verwarring met pianist Lonnie Liston Smith te voorkomen. Smith begon zijn muzikale carrière in het begin van de jaren zestig in het kwartet van George Benson. Later stapte hij over naar Lou Donaldson en bracht bovendien nog enkele briljante soloalbums uit op Blue Note. Na al die jaren houdt hij zich nog altijd bezig met de klassieke souljazz die we uit die periode kennen. Op "Too Damn Hot!" gaat hij te keer alsof de tijd heeft stilgestaan en geen invloed heeft gehad op zijn verouderingsproces. De stomende bebop van "The Whip" en "Evil Turn" worden afgewisseld met stemmige ballads zoals "Silver Serenade" van Horace Silver. Vooral in up tempo nummers als het funky "Back Track", "One Cylinder" en "Your Mama's Got A Complex" levert zijn ingehouden, broeierige spel een optimale spanningsboog op." (AD, Muziekweb)
