JIMMY SMITH — Jimmy Smith (review)

JIMMY SMITH — Jimmy Smith album cover Boxset / Compilation · 1975 · Blues Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
js
In the mid 70s Blue Note began issuing compilations of some of their best artists in double LP format and often at a very reasonable price. These days these comps still show up at thrift stores and used record stores and the price remains very low for jazz vinyl. Generally the tunes on these double LPs are quite good, and the sound can be good also, although some of these records will have a more compressed and quiet sound than the originals. This Jimmy Smith compilation, simply titled “Jimmy Smith”, offers a great overview of some of Smith’s best recordings from the late 50s through the late 60s. These tunes represent Smith in his prime, before the commercial concerns of later years would knock a lot of his music off track.

One of the first jazzers to exclusively play the Hammond B3, Smith is often credited with being the father of the soul jazz sound that grew out of jazz men utilizing the unique features of the B3, but when you listen to these sides you can hear that Jimmy was a little different from the rest of the soul jazz crowd. Jimmy’s music is a little leaner and cleaner, its basically hard bop played to simple blues changes without the extra BBQ sauce and soul/gospel influence of the soul jazz crowd.

If you have ever listened to Smith’s earliest recordings you will know that he started out as a high speed bopper, you can hear his bop roots on the up tempo “The Champ”, but most of the rest of this album is very laid back blues with an occasional standard played like a blues. The main appeal of this album is in the atmosphere and ambiance it creates. This is the perfect late night smokey jazz club sound, this is the kind of music musicians play when the pressure of the busy hours are over and they just want to stretch out on some relaxed solos. Put this on and you are instantly transported to a noire jazz club in NYC in the early 60s, cool.
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