From dazzjazz2@hotmail.com Wed Jun 13 16:12:43 2007
Subject:Review: Jimmy Smith - Straight Life

Jimmy Smith - Straight Life
Quentin Warren, guitar; Donald Bailey, Drums.
1961 - released 2007

This session, which was Smith's only recording of 1961, is a fairly
relaxed medium tempo affair. As far as I can ascertain, it falls between
the sessions that produced two tracks from Prayer Meetin' and Midnight
Special (1960) and Plays Fats Waller(1962).

The album begins with one of those Smith rarities - an original tune
that is not based on the blues. "Straight Life" is a medium swing tune
that begins with the trio playing "kicks" together, hard-bop in style.
Smith is playing the head on the lower manual, which is a nice
variation. The bridge sounds very much like the A sections of Cole
Porter's "I Get A Kick Out Of You." Smith seems to have taken the first
4 bars and chosen to repeat it then transpose it. I'm not suggesting
that he's plagiarized, but it's unlikely that he would not have been
aware of the similarity. The tune itself is okay, a little cutesy
perhaps, but once the solo is underway the trio swings hard. Smith's
tone is different to what I expected. In comparison to "Lonesome Road"
from Prayer Meetin' the organ sounds more mellow. I can only guess that
he's using a different instrument and/or a different Leslie. Perhaps
someone else can shed some light on this.

The album's gem for me is Coleman Hawkins' "Stuffy" - a rhythm changes
type tune with a different bridge. Quentin Warren gets the first solo,
which is another rarity. He sounds good in a down-home kind of way, yet
the solo is too short for it to really go anywhere. Smith's solo is
reserved, and Bailey gets into a nice Blakey style shuffle. No fireworks
here, just a good groove, which for me, is its appeal. Incidentally, I'm
yet to find Smith playing a regular rhythm changes. "Big Fat Mama" from
Plain Talk comes to mind but again it has a different bridge.

On "Star Dust" Smith gets into some nice chordal playing. His three-part
approach to playing ballads is clearly audible. The length of his pedal
notes is really effective, and the tremolo from the leslie creates a
sublime mood. While this track is not a classic like "What's New" from
Crazy! Baby, it's certainly a beautiful listen.

This album treats us to three squabble tunes - "Sweet Sue, Just You,"
"Swanee" and "Yes Sir, That's My Baby." Warren's Freddie Green comp is
so crucial to this style, so supportive. I was quite surprised to hear
"Swanee," given its minstrel show associations. Smith adds some great
triplet fills, which is amazing at this up-tempo. "Yes Sir, That's My
Baby" would be my favourite, as the melody is the strongest and Smith is
in a contemplative mood. Again, these aren't in the same league as "Mack
the Knife" but great examples of the style none the less.

Smith's "Minor Fare" is another non-blues original that kicks off with a
6/8 latin A section before a swinging bridge. Smith's solo is very
relaxed. He even plays some squabble-type parts on a more conventional
tone. Not a great tune, but once Bailey does that bongo beat it grooves
hard.

"Jimmy's Blues" gives a little more solo space to Warren. It's a pity we
don't get to hear more from him. His tone and lines are sweet. Must have
been a difficult role to play in the shadow of Smith - perhaps he felt a
little overwhelmed!

The album is rounded out with another ballad "Here's To My Lady" and an
alternate take of "Minor Fare," which suffers slightly from some clams
from Smith(!) and an unsettled start. Like the master take Smith doesn't
really wander very far from the melody in his improvisation. Perhaps he
wrote the tune at the session.

Even though it's good, this album is not must have Smith material. All
the performances are solid (as you would expect) but the album suffers
from being mostly in the same gear despite the variety of tunes
presented. However, with repeated listens it is growing on me and it is
good to hear Smith in this relaxed mode. The liner notes by Bob Porter
are interesting and well written, but the photos are ones we've all seen
before - surely there must be some others in the vault.

Darren Heinrich
14th June 2007

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