Jimmy Smith (December 8, 1928 – February 8, 2005) was a jazz musician whose performances on the Hammond B-3 electric organ helped to popularize this instrument. In 2005, Smith was awarded the NEA Jazz Masters Award from the National Endowment for the Arts, the highest honor that the United States bestows upon jazz musicians.[1]Contents [hide]
1 Career
2 Musical style
3 Influence
4 Discography
4.1 As leader
4.2 As sideman
5 References
6 External links

[edit]
Career

Born James Oscar Smith and originally a pianist, Smith switched to organ in 1953 after hearing Wild Bill Davis. He purchased his first Hammond organ, rented a warehouse to practice in and emerged after little more than a year with an exciting new sound which was to completely revolutionize the way in which the instrument could be played. On hearing him playing in a Philadelphia club, Blue Note's Alfred Lion immediately signed him to the label and with his second album, also known as The Champ, quickly established Smith as a new star on the jazz scene. He was a prolific recording artist and as a leader, recorded around 40 sessions for Blue Note in just 8 years beginning in 1956. His most notable albums from this period include The Sermon!, House Party, Home Cookin' , Midnight Special, Back at the Chicken Shack and Prayer Meetin' .

Smith then signed to Verve Records label in 1962. His first album Bashin', sold well and for the first time set Smith with a big band, led by Oliver Nelson. Further big band collaborations followed, most successfully with Lalo Schifrin for The Cat and guitarist Wes Montgomery, with whom he recorded two albums: The Dynamic Duo and Further Adventures Of Jimmy and Wes. Other notable albums from this period include Blue Bash and Organ Grinder's Swing with Kenny Burrell, The Boss with George Benson, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Got My Mojo Working, and the funky Root Down.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Smith recorded with some of the great jazz musicians of the day such as Kenny Burrell, George Benson, Grant Green, Stanley Turrentine, Lee Morgan, Lou Donaldson, Tina Brooks, Jackie McLean, Grady Tate and Donald Bailey. In the 1970s, Smith opened his own supper club in Los Angeles, California and played there regularly. With guitarist Paul C. Saenz, Larry Paxton, on drums, Freddy Garcia, on saxophone.

Smith had a career revival in the 1980s and 1990s, again recording for Blue Note and Verve, and for Milestone and Elektra. Smith also recorded with other artists including Quincy Jones/Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Joey DeFrancesco. His last major album Dot Com Blues (Blue Thumb, 2000), featured many special guests such as Dr. John, B. B. King and Etta James.
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Musical style

While the electric organ was used in jazz by Fats Waller and Count Basie, Smith's virtuoso improvisation technique on the Hammond helped to popularize the electric organ as a jazz and blues instrument. For ballads, he played walking bass lines on the bass pedals. For uptempo tunes, he would play the bass line on the lower manual and use the pedals for emphasis on the attack of certain notes, which helped to emulate the attack and sound of a string bass.
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Influence

Smith influenced many other jazz organists, as well as rock keyboardists like Jon Lord, Brian Auger, Keith Emerson. More recently, Smith influenced bands such as the Beastie Boys, who sampled the bassline from "Root Down (and Get It)" from Root Down — and saluted Smith in the lyrics — for their own hit "Root Down," Medeski, Martin < Wood, Will Culbreath of Jazzmatic and The Hayden-Eckert Ensemble. The Acid Jazz movement also reflects Smith's organ style. In 1999, Smith guested on two tracks of a live album, Incredible! with his protégé, Joey DeFrancesco, a then 28-year-old organist. Smith and DeFrancesco later played together on the collaborative album Legacy, released in 2005 shortly after Smith's death.
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Discography
[edit]
As leader
Blue Note 1956-63

[Jimmy Smith recorded more than forty sessions as a leader for Blue Note between 1956-63. Many of them were not released until several years after the original recording dates, as shown] *

1956
A New Sound-A New Star Vol.1
A New Sound-A New Star Vol.2
The Incredible Jimmy Smith at the Organ Vol.3
At Club Baby Grand Vol.1
At Club Baby Grand Vol.2

1957
A Date With Jimmy Smith Vol. 1
A Date With Jimmy Smith Vol. 2
Jimmy Smith At The Organ Vol. 1
Jimmy Smith At The Organ Vol. 2
The Sounds of Jimmy Smith
Groovin' at Small's Vol. 1
Groovin' at Small's Vol. 2
Plays Pretty Just for You
Jimmy Smith Trio + LD *
Cherokee *
Lonesome Road *

1958
House Party
The Sermon!
Confirmation *
Cool Blues *
Confirmation *
Six Views of the Blues *
Softly As A Summer Breeze *

1959
Home Cookin'

1960
Crazy! Baby
Midnight Special
Back at the Chicken Shack
Open House *
Plain Talk *
On the Sunny Side *

1961
Straight Life *

1962
Plays Fats Waller

1963
Rockin' the Boat
Prayer Meetin'
Bucket! *
I'm Movin' On *
Special Guests *
Verve 1962-73

1962
Bashin'

1963
Any Number Can Win
Blue Bash (with Kenny Burrell)
Hobo Flats
Live at the Village Gate (Metro)

1964
The Cat
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Christmas Cookin'

1965
Monster
Organ Grinder Swing
Got My Mojo Workin'
In Hamburg Live (Metro)
Live in Concert /Paris/Salle Pleyel Live (Metro)
La Métamorphose des cloportes (Soundtrack) *

1966
Hoochie Coochie Man
Peter and the Wolf
The Dynamic Duo (with Wes Montgomery)
Further Adventures of Jimmy and Wes (with Wes Montgomery) *

1967
Respect
Plays the Standards (Sunset SUS-5175/SUM-1175)

1968
The Boss
Livin' It Up
Stay Loose
Live Salle Pleyel (Trema) *

1970
Groove Drops

1971
I'm Gonna Git Myself Together
In A Plain Brown Wrapper

1972
Bluesmith
Root Down - Live
Newport In New York '72/The Jimmy Smith Jam, Vol.5 (Atlantic)

1973
Portuguese Soul
The Other Side Of Jimmy Smith
Various Labels

1974
Blacksmith (Pride)
Paid in Full (Mojo)

1975
'75 (Mojo)

1976
Sit on It! (Mercury)

1977
It's Necessary (Mercury)

1978
Unfinished Business (Mercury)

1980
The Cat Strikes Again (Laserlight)
Second Coming (Mojo)

1981
All The Way Live (with Eddie Harris) (Milestone) *

1982
Off the Top (Elektra)

1983
Keep on Comin' (Elektra)

1985
One Night With Blue Note, Preserved - Vol. 3 (Blue Note)

1986
Go For Watcha Know (Blue Note)

1989
Prime Time (Milestone)

1990
Fourmost Live (Milestone)
Fourmost Return (Milestone) *

1993
Sum Serious Blues (Milestone)
The Master (Blue Note)
The Master II (Blue Note) *

1995
Damn! (Verve)

1996
Angel Eyes (Verve)

2000
Dot Com Blues (Blue Thumb/Verve)

2001
Black Cat/Daybreak (Castle)

Album reviews

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