Jazz Articles about Jimmy Smith

Jimmy Smith: Plays Fats Waller

by David Rickert
November 10, 2008

It makes sense that Jimmy Smith recorded an album's worth of Fats Waller tunes, since Waller himself was a pioneer on the organ in a jazz context. But it makes even more sense when you consider that Smith applied the single note runs of a pianist to his instrument, and Waller, no slouch on the piano himself, must have been an irresistible target for Smith's treatment.Despite the lineup, any of Jimmy Smith's Blue Note records are pretty much ...

The Fantastic Jimmy Smith; At the Organ, Volume 3

by Joel Roberts
May 23, 2006

It's often been said that the late Jimmy Smith did the same thing for the Hammond organ that Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie and J.J. Johnson and Charlie Christian did for their instruments. That is, launch it into the age of modern jazz with a revolutionary approach, forever changing how it would be played. Two remastered reissues give a fascinating glimpse of that revolution in progress.

Jimmy Smith The Fantastic Jimmy Smith Empire Masterwerks ...

Jimmy Smith: Me and Mr. Johnson

by AAJ Staff
April 1, 2006

Back in the day, when you said organ, you were talking about one of two things: a part of the body or the Hammond B-3. Jazz organ masters like Larry Young and Jimmy Smith did not play the Minimoog or the Casio Tectronic, they played the B-3. Nowadays the kids are picking up a new keyboard a week, whatever the latest gadget may be, but they still can't play the original organ from 1955.

Philadelphia-bred organ master Jimmy Smith is ...

Jimmy Smith: Softly As A Summer Breeze

by Chris May
March 17, 2006

An oddity and supporting cast player in the Jimmy Smith canon, Softly As A Summer Breeze is nonetheless a welcome addition to Blue Note's Rudy Van Gelder remasters programme, bringing together three distinct sessions with partially overlapping personnel. All the evidence suggests the first four tracks were originally recorded for a Kenny Burrell album which was never released, and the next two for a Jimmy Smith set which likewise didn't materialise. The final four tracks, featuring vocalist Bill Henderson, were ...

Jimmy Smith: Music for Lovers

by Norman Weinstein
February 24, 2006

This Music for Lovers compilation is probably the most restrained Jimmy Smith collection ever compiled, and it allows a rarely presented side of Smith's work from 1957-1960 to be spotlit. It's also an ideal showcase for Smith as delicately tasteful accompanist. An apt comparison would be to Oscar Peterson during the '50s. All that virtouso grandstanding could chill to a hush when he accompanied, say, Billie Holiday. The same is true about Smith. The first tune of ...

Jimmy Smith: Retrospective

by Sean Patrick Fitzell
August 10, 2005

He might not have been the first jazz organist, but Jimmy Smith's place in jazz history as the first to modernize and popularize its use as a featured jazz instrument is secure. His innovative style created the sub-genre of organ jazz, which many have followed. When he died this past February at age 76, Smith was rejuvenating his career artistically; he was nominated as “best organist by the Jazz Journalist Association this year.

Released last fall, the four-CD Retrospective was ...

Jimmy Smith: Home Cookin'

by Sean Patrick Fitzell
June 18, 2005

"The Incredible Jimmy Smith cemented his reputation as the king of jazz organ during his prolific residency at Blue Note from 1956-63, as both a leader and collaborator with labelmates. His popularity and record sales helped the label grow and foster new talent. When he returned to Blue Note later in his career, it was only appropriate that they revisit and restore those early releases so essential for Smith's, and Blue Note's, legacy. Home Cookin' is the ...