Jimmy Smith

Part of Blue Note's Music for Lovers series - although points should be taken off for the lousy covers - these nine cuts show a different side of the wild, inventive, and funky soul-jazz organist Jimmy Smith. These ballads were recorded between 1958 and 1960 (with one exception, "Little Girl Blue," taped in 1957), all of them standards. Smith is in fine company on these sides. Some of the other players include Kenny Burrell, Ray Crawford, Blue Mitchell, Lee Morgan, Lou Donaldson, Jackie McLean, and Ike Quebec. Smith's sensitive side is revealed in readings of "Lover Man," "Willow Weep for Me," "Angel Eyes," "My One and Only Love," and "It Could Happen to You"…

Strange as it seems, organist Jimmy Smith and tenor saxophonist Eddie Harris have to this date only played together once. Their recorded collaboration at San Francisco's Keystone Korner in 1981 has recently been released for the first time by Milestone on All the Way Live. Harris (who utilizes an electrified tenor) and Smith (along with drummer Kenny Dixon) jam a couple of blues, the funky "8 Counts for Rita" (which has some audience participation) and three familiar standards. The recording quality is not state-of-the-art but is certainly listenable and the high level of the playing overcomes any technical deficiencies. Essentially a hard bop stylist, Eddie Harris's brilliance and originality are sometimes hidden under his innovative use of electronics but he has long had his own sound while Jimmy Smith is the originator of his very influential style…

Groovin' at Smalls' Paradise is a live album by American jazz organist Jimmy Smith featuring performances recorded at Smalls' Paradise in New York City in 1957 and originally released in two volumes on the Blue Note label. The organ heard on this album is distinctive from most Jimmy Smith recordings in that the percussion on-off switch was either broken or Smith deliberately set the switch to a position halfway between on and off. This prevented the single-triggered percussion tone from decaying, Since the percussion tone is also not routed through the vibrato circuit, the effect is quite unusual.

The Jazz Club series is an attractive addition to the Verve catalogue. With it's modern design and popular choice of repertoire, the Jazz Club is not only opened for Jazz fans, but for everyone that loves good music.
Jimmy Smith wasn't the first organ player in jazz, but no one had a greater influence with the instrument than he did; Smith coaxed a rich, grooving tone from the Hammond B-3, and his sound and style made him a top instrumentalist in the 1950s and '60s, while a number of rock and R&B keyboardists would learn valuable lessons from Smith's example.

Softly as a Summer Breeze is one of Jimmy Smith's more obscure Blue Note dates. The six-song trio program finds the organist joined by either guitarist Kenny Burrell and drummer Philly Joe Jones, or guitarist Eddie McFadden and drummer Donald Bailey. At first glance, the album may look like a ballad-oriented set, but "Hackensack" really cooks, "Sometimes I'm Happy" struts, and "One for Philly Joe" (a familiar but unplaceable melody used for a later pop tune) heats thing up, and the LP has its exciting moments.

Playing piano-style single-note lines on his Hammond B-3 organ, Jimmy Smith revolutionized the use of the instrument in a jazz combo setting in the mid-'50s and early '60s, and he was still the next big thing on the block when he recorded two LP volumes live over the course of two afternoon sets and three evening sets on August 4, 1956, at Club Baby Grand in Wilmington, DE. Smith had already tracked three successful studio LPs for Blue Note Records at sessions held earlier in the year in February, March, and June, and the time seemed right to present him in a concert setting where the full whirlwind force of his speedy playing could be best appreciated…

Playing piano-style single-note lines on his Hammond B-3 organ, Jimmy Smith revolutionized the use of the instrument in a jazz combo setting in the mid-'50s and early '60s, and he was still the next big thing on the block when he recorded two LP volumes live over the course of two afternoon sets and three evening sets on August 4, 1956, at Club Baby Grand in Wilmington, DE. Smith had already tracked three successful studio LPs for Blue Note Records at sessions held earlier in the year in February, March, and June, and the time seemed right to present him in a concert setting where the full whirlwind force of his speedy playing could be best appreciated…

These sessions live at Art D'Lugoff's Village Gate night club in Greenwich Village on May 31, 1963 were at one point previously unreleased, eventually issued by the short-lived Metro subsidiary of MGM on vinyl sometime after being recorded. The session is barely over 30 minutes, the sound is a bit thin (but not to its detriment), but Smith's playing is peerless as always, and his band with guitarist Quentin Warren and young drummer Billy Hart may be a curiosity for some. Warren is not the best or most adept plectrist Smith had employed, but gets the job done in a quiet, unassuming manner. Well before hitting his stride as a premier progressive jazz performer, Hart's style is set apart from soul-jazz drummers like Donald Bailey, Billy James, or Bernard Purdie, using looser rhythmic associations instead of hard-edged funky beats…

Recorded live at Small's Paradise, New York City on April 7, 1958. This CD should greatly interest all Jimmy Smith collectors, including those who already have the original LP. In addition to four excellent selections (quintets with altoist Lou Donaldson, Tina Brooks on tenor, guitarist Eddie McFadden, either Art Blakey or Donald Bailey on drums, and the organist/leader), there are three previously unissued numbers from the same gig, featuring the quartet of Donaldson, Smith, McFadden, and Bailey. The repertoire is filled with blues and bop standards, and the soloing is at a consistently high and hard-swinging level. Jimmy Smith fans will be pleased.

Back at the Chicken Shack is one of organist Jimmy Smith's classic Blue Note sessions, and the first to draw attention to tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine. Recorded in 1960 with Kenny Burrell on guitar, Donald Bailey on drums, and Turrentine, the group reaches the peak of funky soul jazz that all other challengers of the genre would have to live up to. Included on this uptempo session is a reworking of "When I Grow Too Old to Dream" (a feature for Turrentine), Turrentine's "Minor Chant," two Smith compositions, "Messy Bessie" as well as the set's notable title cut. Smith's Midnight Special album was recorded at these same sessions, and is also exceptional.