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Jimmy Smith
Born James Oscar Smith in Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA. Smith was influenced by both gospel and blues. He first achieved prominence in the 1950s where his recordings became popular on jukeboxes before there were commonly used terms to describe his unique musical flavor. In the sixties and seventies he helped create the jazz style known as 'funk' or 'soul jazz'. There had been earlier limited use of the electronic organ in jazz (notably by Fats Waller and Count Basie), though these early examples sometimes had a novelty feel. Smith is widely recognized as introducing the electric organ as a legitimate musical instrument, capable of virtuoso improvisation. Smith employed a unique technique to emulate a string bass player on the organ. Although he played walking bass lines on the pedals on ballads, 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. His solos were characterised by percussive chords mixed with very fast melodic improvisation with the right hand. He generally used a drawbar registration of 868000000 or 888000000 on the lower manual, which he used for the bass line and comping chords. He used a similar registration on the upper manual, which he used for soloing, but with the addition of the Hammond's percussion circuit. Smith was a prolific recording artist. He first recorded with the Blue Note label in 1956. His early albums with Blue Note sold very well, improving its financial viability and aiding the label's efforts to promote other artists. They include Home Cookin' , The Sermon!, Midnight Special, Prayer Meetin' , and Back at the Chicken Shack. Smith signed to Verve Records label in 1963. Smith's albums with Verve include: The Cat, The Boss, Root Down, Peter & The Wolf, Any Number Can Win, The Incredible..., Bashin' , Got My Mojo Workin' , Christmas Cookin' , and Organ Grinder Swing. It was in this period that he began a regular collaboration with Guitarist Wes Montgomery, with whom he recorded two albums: The Dynamic Duo with Wes Montgomery and Further Adventures Of Jimmy and Wes. Smith recorded with a full orchestra and worked with arrangers and conductors such as Lalo Schifrin and Oliver Nelson. He also worked in small groups that featured many of the best jazz musicians of his era: Kenny Burrell, Donald "Duck" Bailey, Grady Tate, Lee Morgan, Lou Donaldson, Tina Brooks, Jackie McLean and Stanley Turrentine among them.
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Philadelphia Jazz
by Victor L. Schermer
Philadelphia Jazz Suzanne Cloud and Diane Turner 127 pages ISBN 978-1-4671-0784-6 Images of America Arcadia Publishing 2022 Philadelphia longs to be known as a jazz town, a city distinguished by its major contribution to the jazz legacy. There is a good reason for this. A large number of members of the jazz pantheon came up and/or made their home in Philadelphia. They include, just for ...
read moreYour Favorite Hammond B-3 Organists
by Michael Ricci
All About Jazz member votes were tabulated and this list represents our favorite Hammond B-3 organists. Fully transparent and easily verifiable, All About Jazz's organists poll was conducted during the 2022 calendar year running from July 20th to December 7th. We want to thank every member who participated in creating this impressive list for the next generation of jazz enthusiasts to discover. 1Jimmy Smith2Joey DeFrancesco3Dr. Lonnie Smith4Larry Goldings5Shirley Scott6Larry Young7Jack McDuff8Jimmy McGriff9Charles Earland10Richard “Groove" Holmes11Tony Monaco12Pat Bianchi13Mike LeDonne14Big ...
read moreIt's Infrastructure Week!
by H William Stine
This week I paid tribute to the roads and highways, the bridges and tunnels, the power, communications, and water systems. I thought I'd better hurry up and celebrate Infrastructure Week before everything crumbles, fizzles out, implodes, and self-destructs. Playlist Cody Owen Stine “Paris Mismatch (Theme Music)" 00:00 Rosemary Clooney “On The Road Again" from Still On The Road (Concord) 3:40 Hilary Gardner “Brooklyn Bridge" from The Great City (Anzic Records) 07:28 Frank Sinatra “Street Of Dreams" from Sinatra ...
read moreLast Dance (for Now)
by Marc Cohn
So, this is our “last dance" at least for now, and we hope to have new Gifts & Messages shows in 2021. As many of you know, even this is only a two-hour show, it's almost a full-time job, with listening to new/old music, selecting tunes, doing the program-specific research and lots of reading, in addition to actually producing the show. I'm at a time of life where other business demands my attention. Rather than do a half-assed job each ...
read moreMeet Marc Cohn
by Marc Cohn
Meet Marc A. Cohn Dr. Cohn is a New Yorker-in-exile and has been doing jazz radio as an avocation since 1967. He is Professor Emeritus in Seed Biology at Louisiana State University, where he has won numerous teaching awards. He is a widely recognized authority on seed dormancy, is Editor Emeritus of Seed Science Research (the premier scientific journal in the field), and is a recipient of the Seed Science Award (nationally, the most prestigious research award in seed biology) ...
read moreJames Bond and other Secret Agents, Spies and Detectives - Part 2
by Ludovico Granvassu
In the first part of the show [click here to listen to it] we focused on jazz inspired by the music composed by James Barry for the James Bond series. Here we switch our attention to other great soundtrack composers like Lalo Schifrin, or Quincy Jones, and other movie characters like Sherlock Holmes, Ms. Marple, Nero Wolfe or Dirty Harry. And we look into how Charlie Parker became Charlie Chan. We then wrap things up with the daughter of the ...
read moreBack At The Chicken Shack
by Thomas Fletcher
Back At The Chicken Shack celebrates 60 years since its recording date at the Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs. The same session produced Midnight Special (Blue Note, 1961), though Back At The Chicken Shack would have to wait three years for its release. The label's co-founder, Alfred Lion, later revealed that the healthy sales of this album, alongside many others from Jimmy Smith, kept the record company afloat. The album features, at the time, a youthful but ...
read moreJazz Musician of the Day: Jimmy Smith
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Jimmy Smith's birthday today!
Born James Oscar Smith in Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA. Smith was influenced by both gospel and blues. He first achieved prominence in the 1950s where his recordings became popular on jukeboxes before there were commonly used terms to describe his unique musical flavor. In the sixties and seventies he helped create the jazz style known as 'funk' or 'soul jazz'. There had been earlier limited use of the electronic organ in jazz ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Jimmy Smith
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Jimmy Smith's birthday today!
Born James Oscar Smith in Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA. Smith was influenced by both gospel and blues. He first achieved prominence in the 1950s where his recordings became popular on jukeboxes before there were commonly used terms to describe his unique musical flavor. In the sixties and seventies he helped create the jazz style known as 'funk' or 'soul jazz'. There had been earlier limited use of the electronic organ in jazz ...
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Jimmy Smith: Confirmation
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Back in the vinyl era, record-buying decisions were made based on the backs of albums. Jacket covers attracted your attention in stores but the personnel, song choices and liner notes on the back often were tipping points in terms of spending. Before shrink wrap sealed albums starting in the early 1960s, some stores let you listen to albums prior to purchase but most didn't. As a buyer, you were flying blind. Unless a friend had an album or you heard ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Jimmy Smith
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Jimmy Smith's birthday today!
Born James Oscar Smith in Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA. Smith was influenced by both gospel and blues. He first achieved prominence in the 1950s where his recordings became popular on jukeboxes before there were commonly used terms to describe his unique musical flavor. In the sixties and seventies he helped create the jazz style known as 'funk' or 'soul jazz'. There had been earlier limited use of the electronic organ in jazz ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Jimmy Smith
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Jimmy Smith's birthday today!
Born James Oscar Smith in Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA. Smith was influenced by both gospel and blues. He first achieved prominence in the 1950s where his recordings became popular on jukeboxes before there were commonly used terms to describe his unique musical flavor. In the sixties and seventies he helped create the jazz style known as \'funk\' or \'soul jazz\'... Read more.
Place our Musician of the Day widget on your website ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Jimmy Smith
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Jimmy Smith's birthday today!
Born James Oscar Smith in Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA. Smith was influenced by both gospel and blues. He first achieved prominence in the 1950s where his recordings became popular on jukeboxes before there were commonly used terms to describe his unique musical flavor. In the sixties and seventies he helped create the jazz style known as \'funk\' or \'soul jazz\'... Read more.
Place our Musician of the Day widget on your website ...
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Jimmy Smith: Portuguese Soul
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
One of organist Jimmy Smith's most interesting albums is Portuguese Soul. Recorded for Verve in February 1973, the album remains unknown by many, largely because it was out of print for years. The album wasn't helped by the cover, which has a horror film poster thing going on in the design. Those who do know the album are often surprised to learn that it was arranged by Thad Jones, who conducted a large orchestra that sadly remains uncredited. As Smith ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Jimmy Smith
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Jimmy Smith's birthday today!
Born James Oscar Smith in Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA. Smith was influenced by both gospel and blues. He first achieved prominence in the 1950s where his recordings became popular on jukeboxes before there were commonly used terms to describe his unique musical flavor. In the sixties and seventies he helped create the jazz style known as \'funk\' or \'soul jazz\'... Read more.
Place our Musician of the Day widget on your website ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Jimmy Smith
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Jimmy Smith's birthday today!
Born James Oscar Smith in Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA. Smith was influenced by both gospel and blues. He first achieved prominence in the 1950s where his recordings became popular on jukeboxes before there were commonly used terms to describe his unique musical flavor. In the sixties and seventies he helped create the jazz style known as \'funk\' or \'soul jazz\'... Read more.
Place our Musician of the Day widget on your website ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Jimmy Smith
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Jimmy Smith's birthday today! Born James Oscar Smith in Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA. Smith was influenced by both gospel and blues. He first achieved prominence in the 1950s where his recordings became popular on jukeboxes before there were commonly used terms to describe his unique musical flavor. In the sixties and seventies he helped create the jazz style known as \'funk\' or \'soul jazz\'... Read more. Place our Musician of the Day widget on your website ...
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Jimmy Smith
Instrument: Organ, Hammond B3
Born: December 8, 1925
Died: February 8, 2005
