From Rockman59@comcast.net Wed Feb 09 14:46:25 2005
Subject:Jimmy Smith Obit


Jimmy Smith: King of the Hammond B-3 Organ
Posted: 2005-02-09



Jimmy Smith
Born: December 8, 1928 in Norristown, PA
Died: February 8, 2005 in New York, NY
By Todd S. Jenkins

For all its versatility, the Hammond B-3 organ has had
comparatively few champions in jazz, none greater than Jimmy Smith.
The nearly unchallenged master of the jazz organ, humorous and
soulful to the very end, died at home on February 8, 2004, exactly
two months after his 76th birthday.

Smith studied piano at Philadelphia's Orenstein and Hamilton Schools
of Music in the late 1940s. In 1951, at the age of 23, he switched
to the organ because he enjoyed its sound and potential. Soon it
became his principal professional instrument. Not long after he
erupted into New York's consciousness at the Café Bohemia in the
early 1950s, Smith became the voice of the B-3 in jazz contexts. His
fusion of R&B, gospel, deep blues and jazz were an irresistible
force at the rise of "hard bop", a fresh new sound that set the jazz
scene aflame.

Smith made his first of many recordings for Blue Note in February
1956 (issued as A New Voice, A New Star, Vols. 1 and 2). A lauded
appearance at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival really set things in
motion for Smith. Between his debut session and 1963's Rockin' the
Boat Smith made nearly forty albums during his first tenure with
Blue Note. Back at the Chicken Shack and Midnight Special were back-
to-back hits in 1960, forever sealing Smith's reputation as the
primary voice of jazz Hammond. His fluid interactions with sidemen
like Stanley Turrentine, Kenny Burrell, Jackie McLean and Lee Morgan
made for some of the most enjoyable sounds of the era.

In 1962 Smith began recording for the Verve label, where he
continued to maintain his prominence. Some of his most exciting and
popular recordings were in the company of big bands, including a
titanic version of the "Walk on the Wild Side" theme (Bashin', 1962,
arranged by Oliver Nelson) and The Cat (1964, arranged by Lalo
Schifrin). Along the way he developed an infectious onstage persona,
telling ribald jokes and getting the audience involved with
performances. But after the tremendous 1972 live session, Root Down,
was released, Smith's fortunes took a downward turn.

Throughout the 1970s Smith continued to tour vigorously but slid
from label to label, cutting uninspired albums for MGM, DJM and
Mercury where he tried his hand at such quickly-tarnishing pop hits
as "Pipeline" and "Groovin'". A 1980 reunion with Schifrin, The Cat
Strikes Again (Inner City), showed a bit of promise but was still
miles from his prior achievements. A period with Elektra better
boosted his profile, despite the continuance of questionable covers.
By the time Smith returned to the reconstituted Blue Note in 1986
(Go For Whatcha Know, with Burrell, Turrentine and bassist Buster
Williams), the public seemed ready to embrace the wild man of the
organ once more. With further sessions for Milestone (Fourmost,
1990) and Verve (Damn!, 1995) Smith was soon back at the apex of
organ jazz. He continued to cover both new ground and old, often
reaching back to his early blues inspirations.

In November 2004, Smith was announced as one of the National
Endowment for the Arts' Jazz Masters fellows. Smith's last completed
recording was Legacy, a session with new-generation organist Joey
DeFrancesco, due to be released one week after Smith's death. The
album features the legendary master and one of his most ardent
followers interpreting some of Smith's best material, such as "Back
to the Chicken Shack", "Got My Mojo Workin'", and the more
recent "Dot Com Blues".

Smith and DeFrancesco were scheduled to perform together at Yoshi's
in Oakland, California from February 16-20, 2005. That will now be a
tribute show led by DeFrancesco. Further information can be found at
www.yoshis.com.