JIMMY SMITH — Root Down (review)

JIMMY SMITH — Root Down album cover Live album · 1972 · Soul Jazz Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
js
‘Root Down’ is not your typical Jimmy Smith album. Recorded in the early 70s when psychedelic jazz rock was peaking, Smith and his crew turn in a very high energy live set that occasionally borders on modern fusion rather than the laid back swing-blues that Jimmy is usually known for. A lot of credit for the more aggressive approach on here goes to the hyper rhythm section of Paul Humphrey on drums and Buck Clarke on percussion, both had been working with modern fusion artists at this time. Guitarist Arthur Adams also gives the band a little more wah-wah and distortion than you would hear on a classic Jimmy Smith Blue Note recording. Jimmy utilizes more modern chord progressions and structures on these tunes, his stacked suspended 4th chords moving in chromatic progressions at the turnarounds sound more like Larry Young or Keith Emerson than the guy who brought us 'Back at the Chicken Shack'.

Smith’s playing is on fire and his phrasing and rhythms are very tight as he takes us through three high-octane funk numbers, two soul hits and one classic Jimmy Smith slow down blues called ‘After Hours’. If you are a Jimmy Smith fan, you must check out this uncharacteristically modern and kinetic set of live tunes.

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