Jazz Articles about Jimmy Smith

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Jazz Organ Stories: Jimmy Smith

by AAJ Staff
February 10, 2005

By Pete Fallico

Nineteen ninety-four marks forty years for Jimmy Smith on the Hammond organ. Although he made the switch from the piano in 1953, Jimmy did not really find his voice on the organ until the following year. Woodshedding took place in the warehouse where he and his father worked as plasterers. Jimmy recalls: “I got my organ from a loan shark had it shipped to the warehouse. I stayed in that warehouse, I would say, six months to ...

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Jimmy Smith: NEA Jazz Master

by AAJ Staff
February 10, 2005

By Pete Fallico The following documents were submitted to the National Endowment For The Arts by the Jazz Organ Fellowship in early 2004. To the best of our knowledge our efforts were directly responsible for the eventual selection of Jimmy as one of their Jazz Masters for the year 2005. Jazz Organ Fellowship Document #1 Jimmy Smith became a jazz innovator when, in the mid-fifties, he revolutionized the sound of jazz organ. Heretofore, ...

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Jimmy Smith: Retrospective

by John Kelman
January 10, 2005

Jimmy Smith Retrospective Blue Note 2004

With the proliferation of Hammond B-3 organ players that have emerged in the past ten years including Joey DeFrancesco, Larry Goldings, John Medeski and Dan Wall, it's hard to imagine a time when the instrument wasn't a common texture And, as the liner notes to the long-overdue four-disc look at B-3 progenitor Jimmy Smith's early career on Blue Note, Retrospective , say: “Jimmy Smith did not invent jazz ...

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Jimmy Smith: Retrospective

by Jeff Stockton
January 6, 2005

In over four hours of music spread across four discs, this collection demonstrates how Jimmy Smith revolutionized the Hammond B-3 as a jazz instrument of expressiveness and versatility, both as a sideman and as a leader. The usual Blue Note stars are here: Lou Donaldson's alto sax illuminates “Summertime" and cries the blues on “All Day Long"; on “Groovy Date," Donaldson anchors a front line that includes Hank Mobley blowing crystalline tenor and Donald Byrd on trumpet; and on “Yardbird ...

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Jimmy Smith: Prayer Meetin

by Joel Roberts
July 25, 2004

Jimmy Smith and the late Stanley Turrentine were one of the great organ-sax combos, collaborating on a series of albums for Blue Note in the early '60s that helped define the genre of soul jazz. The last of those efforts was 1963's Prayer Meetin' , made at the end of a flurry of recording activity by Smith (four albums in a week's time) as he rushed to complete his contract with Blue Note before heading over to Verve.

Just reissued ...

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Jimmy Smith: Christmas Cookin'

by Robert Gilbert
December 8, 2002

On the cover of Jimmy Smith's 1964 Christmas album, the organist is decked out in a Santa suit behind the wheel of a red sports car with a tree and presents in tow. The irreverent and fun photograph is a good primer to the contents inside, for this is no hackneyed rundown of a group of well-worn holiday favourites. Instead, Smith puts a soulful and exciting stamp on each track, along with the help of arrangers Billy Byers and Al ...

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Jimmy Smith: The Fantastic Jimmy Smith

by Charlie B. Dahan
March 1, 2002

The Fantastic Jimmy Smith, documents the beginnings of a remarkable career in music. This album is from the period of 1953-1955 when Smith first began to dedicate himself to the organ. While the recording here do not match the level of his later sides, the album provides insight into a man about to become the greatest at his instrument.Before Jimmy Smith became the legendary jazz organist, he was an in-house session pianist and organist for New ...