From goodmanlawrence@videotron.ca Wed Jun 13 18:01:43 2007
Subject:Re: Review: Jimmy Smith - Straight Life

Just curious which Don Paterson cd?



Lorrie



_____

From: CloneWheel@yahoogroups.com [mailto:CloneWheel@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of dsalley13
Sent: June 13, 2007 8:25 PM
To: CloneWheel@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [CWSG] Re: Review: Jimmy Smith - Straight Life



I just ordered my copy from Amazon, along with another Don Patterson
CD. Thank you very much for the tip.

XKDave

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--- In HYPERLINK
"mailto:CloneWheel%40yahoogroups.com"CloneWheel@yahoogro-ups.com, "dazzjazz"
wrote:
>
> 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
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>



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