Expansions

Smith's band was his brother Donald on flute and vocals, Dave Hubbard on saxophone and alto flute, Cecil McBee on bass, Art Gore on drums, Michael Carvin on percussion, clavinet and drums, and the percussionists Leopoldo Fleming and Lawrence Killian. The title song was the first time Smith wrote lyrics, to pair positive messages with dance music; McBee played upright bass, though many assumed it was electric. Smith said he wanted to put James Brown's sound on the bottom so people could dance to it. AllMusic's Thom Jurek gave it five stars, saying it is fully a jazz album, and a completely funky soul-jazz disc as well; Uncut's Jon Dale gave the 2025 reissue 9 out of 10, finding the joy of Expansions in its subordination of ego, while calling the lyrics overly vague proclamations.