Smith, Johnny

Johnny Smith was an in-demand guitarist during the 1950s, recording extensively for the Roost label and having a hit with "Moonlight in Vermont." But since moving to Colorado during the 1960s, he has recorded only sporadically. These 1967 sessions for Verve feature the guitarist with a terrific rhythm section consisting of pianist Hank Jones, bassist George Duvivier, and drummer Don Lamond, playing a mix of standards and a few pop songs of the mid-'60s. Smith's clean, always swinging style is well matched by the tasteful Hank Jones (a master of accompaniment in any situation)…

Johnny Smith - Johnny Smith Plays Jimmy Van Heusen (1955) {2017 Japan SHM-CD Jazz Masters Collection 1200 Series WPCR-29281}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 135 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 78 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 74 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remaster
© 1955, 2017 Roost / Parlophone / Warner Music Japan | WPCR-29281
Jazz / Cool / Guitar

Reissue with SHM-CD format and new 24bit remastering. Guitarist Johnny Smith plays the music of Jimmy Van Heusen – a composer whose understated approach is a perfect match for the subtle style of the stringman! The songs are mostly easygoing numbers, in a style that suits Johnny well – and allows him to open up those fluid tones and colors in just the right way. Backing is by a trio that features Bob Pancoast on piano, George Roumanis on bass, and Gerry Segal on drums – working with a vibe that matches the strength of Smith's other Roost sessions from the time – the kind of albums that helped redefine the role of the guitar in jazz during the postwar years.

Guitarist Johnny Smith will always be best remembered for his 1952 hit recording of "Moonlight in Vermont," a mellow ballad that also features Stan Getz. Smith, whose chordal-oriented style was self-taught, originally played trumpet, violin, and viola before switching to guitar. A studio musician from 1947 on, Smith's impressive technique and quiet sound made him in great demand even before "Moonlight" and, although he never had another hit, he was a popular attraction throughout the 1950s. After moving to Colorado in the 1960s he opened a music store, taught, and maintained a lower profile, occasionally recording in New York. Smith died in June 2013 at his home in Colorado Springs at 90 years of age.

Johnny Henry Smith II, born June 25th 1922, became one of America's most revered cool jazz guitarist. This 4CD set features eight of Johnny Smith's most potent, dynamic and rewarding albums on which he served as band-leader, recorded for the Roost label between 1955 and 1960. Containing all of this most underrated Jazz master's finest compositions and performances, the collection will work equally well for those new to Smith's music and those who merely require a delightful reminder of his most extraordinary work and most unusual talent.

Out of all the soul-jazz organ players, only one was so thoroughly funked out that he personally adopted the name of his favorite keyboard, the B-3: Johnny "Hammond" Smith. While not as important in the development of jazz styles as other keyboard players such as Jimmy Smith, "Hammond" displayed an earthy, swinging talent worth listening to. Legends of Acid Jazz: Johnny "Hammond" Smith compiles under a single cover two albums Smith recorded in 1969, Soul Talk and Black Feeling! (complete with the liner notes from both original issues). On Legends, Smith gets down in the heady company of, among others, tenor saxophonist Rusty Bryant, funky drummer Bernard Purdie and guitarist Wally Richardson; Richardson here pays tribute to his bandmates with his compositions "Purdie Dirty" and "Johnny Hammond Boogaloo"…

Johnny Smith's best-known album, 1952's Moonlight in Vermont (also the title of his signature song), assured the guitarist a place in jazz history. While saxophone legend Stan Getz is a prominent guest on the record, and certainly threatens to steal the show on numerous occasions, the spotlight never strays too far from Smith, who easily entrances with his supremely laid-back style…

These recordings with the exception of tracks 8, 9, 10, and 11 were originally released on LP in 1983 by Murray Brothers Records under the title "Johnny Dyer and the L.A. Jukes". Untill now, they have never been available on compact disc. This reissue is Johnny's debut album. Produced by Rod Piazza. "Breezy jump rhythms, clear-toned guitar solos, playful breaks and novelty melody lines…is pure West Coast, as are Dyer's smooth vocals." "Characteristic style and a cut-loose approach to playing."

Covering prime early recordings from 1956-1960 and one mid-'80s cut, Blue Note's The Best of Jimmy Smith offers up a fine introduction to the trailblazing jazz organist. Smith's Blue Note sessions not only introduced the world to the complex solo possibilities of the Hammond B3 organ, but simultaneously ushered in the soul-jazz era of the '60s, spawning a wealth of fine imitators in the process. Before delving into more commercial terrain on Verve in the late '60s, Smith cut a ton of jam-session dates for Blue Note, often with the help of hard bop luminaries like trumpeter Lee Morgan, alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson, tenor saxophonists Tina Brooks and Stanley Turrentine, and drummers Art Blakey and Donald Bailey. All are heard here on classic cuts like "The Sermon," "Back at the Chicken Shack," and "The Jumpin' Blues," with Smith regular Turrentine and a young Morgan availing themselves in especially fine form. For his part, Smith eats up the scenery on all the sides here, taking his solo to particularly impressive heights on a fleetly swinging rendition of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home".