Smith is best known for his innovative and soulful mastery of the Hammond B-3 organ, which he first showcased as a member of George Benson’s quartet in the 1960s. Alongside saxophonist Lou Donaldson, Smith recorded a string of celebrated albums for Blue Note in the late 1960s, and later revisited their musical kinship in the 1990s for Milestone and Columbia. Whether on seminal original albums such as “Finger Lickin’ Good”, “Think!”, and “Afro-desia”, or on legendary covers like his take on “Spinning Wheel”, Lonnie Smith created a deep catalogue that keeps getting rediscovered.