Spirituality and the respect of culture are the themes behind Melvin Smith's Portrait, which is a snapspot of his thoughts and views of life and the world. While I don't know the song, I have heard "Lord I Left Your Name On High" through various made-for-TV compilation albums, so it was a surprise for me to hear it done in a jazz frame of mind. Smith's playing in this track sounds a lot like what Grover Washington, Jr. was doing in the early and mid-70's, the CTI-era that a lot of fans still call some of his best. He and the band add a bit of a Latin flair to the proceedings, and one can almost imagine Smith walking around from city to city, country to country, delivering good music to everyone who is able to hear him.

After the first track, Smith undoes his tie and gets a bit more serious by turning "Go Down Moses" and "Wade In The Water" into an earthy blues medley. It is unexpected, but it works very well. One might say "oh no, that sounds like the dirge of the bordello" and while that may be, the contradiction is what makes his performance work, by placing the gospel into a setting that one might feel is unfitting for that kind of music, and in time shows the strength of not only the song, but the musicianship involved. In fact, his passion for mixing the traditional with the unknown or uncertain work very well for him. Covering Donny Hathaway's "Someday We'll All Be Free" would have definitely made him very happy to hear his song done in this way. He also has a number of his own compositions on the album, including "1750 Washington St.", which is said to honor friends of days gone by, and it sounds that way as one can hear nothing but smiles and good times, especially in the piano work of Gregory Royals.

When Smith and the band get to "We Shall Overcome", it's a call for unity, strength, and justice that continues to be the core in the fight against inequality around the world, especially here in the U.S. Portrait is an album that could have easily been a snapshot of this country in 1967, 1962, 1957, or 1897, and perhaps that's the point for an album like this. Despite the different faces and different styles of clothing, the portrait may very well be the same throughout the ages. Smith merely serves as the man/musician behind the camera, and someone who plays with optimism and hope in order to one day be someone to witness a different portrait taken.
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