js With so many Jimmy Smith compilations out there, on vinyl and CD, its hard to tell which might be the best one to go for. If you are looking at your vinyl options, then “Jimmy Smith’s Greatest Hits” (BST 89901) on Blue Note might be the best way to go. All of the tunes on here were recorded between 1957 and 1963, which many consider to be the peak of Smith’s studio recording career. During this time with Blue Note, Smith developed his signature style of virtuoso hard bop riffs played over simple blues changes. Later in his career, on other labels, Smith would veer off into soul jazz, pop, disco and other commercial concerns, but his recordings with Blue Note were always pure jazz blues, some of the most unpretentious and satisfying music you will find. Jimmy’s pioneering work on the B3 is so strong that it went on to influence thousands from Joey DeFrancesco to Jon Lord.

The choice of tunes on here is quite good and some all time favorites can be found including “The Serman” and “Midnight Special”. Other top cuts include the high speed bop dexterity of “The Champ” and the rockin old school RnB of “Prayer Meetin”. There are no duds on here. Blue Note issued another double vinyl Jimmy Smith best of in the mid-70s, but the choice of tunes is better on this earlier compilation, and the sound quality is better too.

js Sometime along about the late 70s and early 80s a number of jazz musicians began to shake off the shackles of commercially driven fusion and fuzak and began to rediscover the joy of playing “real jazz”, as in a group of horn players jamming to a syncopated drum beat. Ironically, many of the musicians driving this return to the roots were leaders of the 60s free jazz avant-garde. Musicians like David Murray and Oliver Lake began playing anything from jump blues to New Orleans jazz, but not in a corny Dixieland revival way, their music still maintained the tough gritty edge of the 60s avant-garde and more integrity than granite quarry. It is during this movement that Murray and Lake started the World Saxophone Quartet. By the time 1994 rolled around and they released “Breath of Life”, the quartet also featured Hamiet Bluiett and Arthur Blythe.

“Breath of Life” finds our quartet of saxophone virtuosos being joined by a rhythm section and a vocalist for a set of rockin Chicago blues and blues related grooves. This is a great CD and the band “breathes new life” into a musical form that is often overused and played out. A real star here is B3 soloist Amina Claudine Myers and her classic 60s soul jazz organ solos. Also, vocalist Fontella Bass does a great job with songs like “Suffering with the Blues”. Its tiresome to hear a singer go through the motions with an unconvincing blues performance, but Fontella’s sorrow over a love ruined is real and might get you thinking a bit.

The quartet does offer some variety on here, on “Picasso” they play (sans the rhythm section) an artsy semi avant-garde mix of composition and improvisation, and on “Breath of Life” they back up Fontella’s vocals with an earthy reggae groove. Another highlight is the loungey space groove of album closer “Deb” which features a great baritone solo from Bluiett.

Matt You can't say Frankie Laine did not have the training to do a Gospel album, after all he had been an altar boy at his local Parish in Chicago and in early January 1953 recorded his smash hit "I Believe" with all it's Gospel connontations and around that same time all this was happening for Frankie a new vocal group had started called The Four Lads, who Mitch Miller, Frankie Laine's friend as well as being the main man at Columbia records had seen at a club and decided to use them with the vocalist Johnny Ray on his hits, "Cry" and "The Little White Cloud That Cried" in 1953 and they recorded them for nothing but not really, as they did score a one year contract for their effort from Mitch. The Four Lads comprised of Connie Cordarini (bass), Bernie Toorish (tenor), Jimmy Arnold (lead ) and Frank Busseri (baritone) and spirituals, folk and pop were all included in their repertoire of songs but at this time we are still very early days in their careers as they would still be performing and recording into the 1970's. "Frankie Laine And The Four Lads" was recorded over three sessions with the first two in June 1954 on the 26th and 27th with another session recorded on October the 27th in 1955. One interesting point is Albert Lerner is on piano for all the sessions but the line-up does change quite a bit for the last one with Edwin LeMar "Buddy" Cole replaced by Richard Hyman on organ and Vincent Terri on guitar is replaced by none other than the old twanger Al Caiola but Al would have been quite early in his career at this point with both the bass player and drummer replaced as well in that last session with this personnel comprising a quintet in number for the band which gives the vocals absolute front and centre as any good spiritual music should contain. Yes, it was back to basics for the albums construction which is one of the joys within, due to this small line-up as anything more would simply have swamped the album draining all that freshness which all the vocalists bring to every song with Old Leather Lungs himself, superbly right out front.

There is a real mix of tempos used throughout the album with usually a fairly up-tempo number followed by the slower one which brings great continual variety to the album with many being on the joyous side with "Juba-Juba-Jubalee" with it's organ introduction and Frankie Laine singing the title in repitition and before you know it we are in full gospel mode with The Four Lads singing right in between Frankie on this joyous up-tempo number. The organ is used as the main section within the bands music throughout putting us right into the church pew and the following number being a slow spiritual with a spoken prayer from Frankie within and here one hears why he was named leather lungs with the notes that Frankie hits with his beautiful and powerful voice. You need to be on your feet and clapping along with "What Would I Do Without The Lord" followed by another of the those slow beautiful numbers with Frankie stretching his lungs in "Let Me Be Ready, Lord" concerning ones death and after you will be ready for that "chariot to take you to those heavenly lands" with this rendition from Frankie and The Four Lads. One of the standouts for me from that last session is "Didn't He Moan" with it's blues/gospel influence and it is simply superb. The album's songs on the flip that deserve a mention are "Rain, Rain, Rain" which was the albums single and hit and listen to Frankie and those Lads swap the vocals around throughout the tune with both taking lead and singing backing in turns. "God's Gonna Take The Saints To Heaven" has us in a lifeboat with the saints, all the way to heaven, followed by the swing and joy of "Wa-Hoo". The next, "Aint It A Pity And A Shame" is one of it's own within the album with The Four Lads singing just halo primarily with electrifying effect right behind Frankie Laine's lead vocal. The album closes with "I Heard The Angels Singing" where one should stand, clap and sing along with this great romper of a spiritual.

Fabulous distinct album within Frankie Laine's discography where he shows us that he can sing anything with anybody. Frankie Laine was a devout Catholic all his life and this religious influenced material was a joy for him to perform and one can hear that clearly within these songs all beautifully sung in conjunction with The Four Lads. Another note on Frankie's versatilatity is three days before that last session for this album in October 1955 he recorded another last album session for his classic "Jazz Spectacular" with Buck Clayton.

Matt More so a Champion Jack Dupree album than King Curtis but no matter as music really does not get much better than this Live recording which came about unintentionally as Jack was only at the Festival playing his solo barrel-house Blues piano and King Curtis was actually supporting the head-liner Aretha Franklin with his stunning saxophone contributions. Neshi Ertegun from Atlantic was in the bar at the Montreux Casino with Joel Dorn, Champion Jack Dupree and of course King Curtis and the idea was floated for the King and Jack to do a set together for the Festival. Different style of musicians is noted on the album cover but not really as the Blues is the basis for all that Jazz and R&B that King Curtis played anyway. King Curtis was a wonderful saxophonist and was in hot demand and had made 26 albums under his own name by this period with "Yackety Yak" which he did with The Coasters giving him his first break. King Curtis could play Jazz without a problem but he knew that Jazz was not going to give him the return that he received by playing all those Pop and Country hits and he did state himself "I wanted to hit the public's pulse, to play what they could understand and enjoy" which he sure did. Champion Jack Dupree was New Orleans born, never learned to read music but learnt to play by ear from an early age which is not surprising when he was brought up in an orphanage having lost both his parents in a fire. Blues is usually played in bar sequences with the number 12 often being the main one but Jack being self taught does not really pay that much heed with his count on piano but this is one of the reasons for his appeal with although a lack of training this does stamp Jack's music as his own, making it a beautifully rough distinct style of piano based Blues. It has been ten years since his last recording at Atlantic Records with "Champion Of The Blues" being the album but Jack Dupree had been around a long time before that with many recordings that were originally recorded with Okeh during the early 1940's. and his masterpiece "Blues From The Gutter" which was actually released in 1958 by Atlantic.

Talking about "Blue's From The Gutter" it is the song "Junker's Blues" taken from the album which gets the show underway by Jack putting down a bit of Boogie Woogie piano with King Curtis and band following with a quick spoken word introduction concerning the tune from Jack about reefers with their ups and downs in life with a laconic humorous approach that only a Southern Blues man can deliver but the slow groove that the band maintains is superb with some great work from King Curtis with his alto gargling at times during his solo and the beautiful blues bounce from Jack's piano on this classic number. That blues bounce is back even at a quicker tempo for "Sneaky Pete" with Boogie Woogie just pushing it all along with King Curtis putting down some terrific solo sax bits in between Jack's comments and he really hits one riding groove to just keep things interesting in between and not only that remember the band has to keep one ear on Jack's piano count and this material was not even rehearsed for the show with masterful being only the word to desribe King Curtis and band. It just keeps boogie-ing along with the next "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" and does the King give it to us with his sax on this one with one beautiful blues solo with the band in full swing right behind him but yes there is more when Cornell comes in on lead guitar with Jack's piano flicking in and out to lead us to his own great little tinkler.

That was just side one of the record with things staying in full swing for the flip with "Get With It" which is followed by "Poor Boy's Blues" being the big slow blues with Jack singing "I'm just a poor boy a long way from home" I ain't got nobody to teach me right from wrong" of course with a blues repitition and amongst all this slow build up Jack keeps singing that "he keeps on drinking like a fool" and King Curtis just powers through with that saxophone during his superb blues solo. Jack gets right back into the full swing boogie for "I'm Having Fun' which is what Jack is doing in this little rough diamond of a song to finish of this great spontaneous set that was recorded back in 1971 at some Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

This is fresh, rough, has the odd muck-up but it only makes things more authentic with Roots being the source for this wonderful distinct Blues album. This is not Chicago Blues with all it sharp lead guitar and harp breaks but primarily piano, saxophone with just a little tasty lead guitar at times thrown in from Cornell Dupree. Essential music and it does not get much better than this with a New Orleans influence of course.

Chicapah There are literally thousands of types, models and brands of modern electronic keyboards. Most of them come and go quickly as new innovations and technology makes last year’s model passé or obsolete. But there’s one instrument in that category that has endured since its inception. The Hammond B3 organ. Yes, it’s been imitated and many of today’s state-of-the-art synthesizers can mock its signature sound to the point where it’s very difficult to tell the difference but most players will tell you that there’s nothing equivalent to sitting before the real thing, switching on those whirling Leslie speakers and letting the beast roar in its natural habitat. And any discussion of its versatility will always be incomplete unless one brings up the man who, more than anyone else, brought it out of the church sanctuary and into the shadier but more expressive world of jazz music. Jimmy Smith. Jimmy didn’t just use the instrument as a stepping stone to being a well-rounded cat on an array of keyboards, he dedicated himself to becoming recognized as the undisputed master of the Hammond B3 who would not only inspire organists for generations to come but to show them exactly how it’s done.

I first became intrigued by the instrument when I heard Dave “Baby” Cortez’ “The Happy Organ” blaring from tinny AM radios in the late 50s. As I got older I realized that Cortez was only exploiting the novelty of the B3 and that, if I wanted to hear its true magic, I needed to procure some LPs by Smith. I did (and wish I still had them) but soon after the British invasion commenced and I started hearing the Hammond in bands as diverse as The Animals and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown I sorta forgot about Jimmy. When prog rock burst upon the music scene in the late 60s and blossomed throughout the 70s I could hear Smith’s techniques surfacing in the playing of Keith Emerson, Jon Lord and Rick Wakeman (just to name a few) with regularity. Jimmy never stopped making music but he stayed in the background for the majority of his life, content to perform regularly in his own night spot in California and to take part in sessions occasionally with some of the biggest names in jazz. He died in 2005 and was awarded the NEA Jazz Master award (America’s highest honor) for his substantial contributions to the cause. His last major album was “Dot Com Blues” released in 2000 and it’s significant on many counts. He was in his mid 70s, it was his first record in over 5 years and, because of the luminaries who were honored to take part in its creation, it’s the most vocalized disc Smith ever put out.

The album opens with “Only in it for the Money,” a song by Dr. John that the composer also sings in his inimitable rasp. It’s a swinging shuffle with a big band backing and you can tell immediately that Smith’s B3 is the genuine monster, not just some plastic plank’s fancy LED screen setting. He makes it talk tough and stroll with a confident swagger. The tune’s constant key changes keep it from getting stale. The hot, funky groove for “8 Counts for Rita” sizzles like frying bacon under Jimmy’s Hammond-isms and the jazzy chords on the turnaround are a treat. Russell Malone’s guitar solo is remarkably George Benson-like. “Strut” is a blues shuffle brought in by Taj Mahal and his husky voice and the cool stuttering in his phrasing make the track a standout. His guitar ride is penetrating and just what the song requires. The lazy vibe surrounding their rendition of the old standard “C.C. Rider” is nothing to write home about but several spirited organ and guitar leads make for a pleasant listen. It’s somewhat comforting to sit back and hear seasoned professionals doing their thing so effortlessly. Smith is joined by Etta James for their energized version of “I Just Wanna Make Love to You.” It’s another swinging shuffle feel but Etta’s contagious sass and the background chorale (that reminds me of Lyle Lovett’s in his Large Band) elevate this song to the status of greatness and Jimmy responds on his B3 with some electrifying runs. This cut alone is worth the price of admission.

Their cover of “Mood Indigo” is next. It’s extremely subtle and sexy, glowing like a candle on a dark night. The deft touches from the musicians involved are sumptuous but not without a sprinkle of levity tossed in from time to time to keep things from making you drowsy. Slowly but surely the intensity increases by increments until the end when they drop back down to the original vibe. Jimmy demonstrates that, despite his age, he hasn’t lost a single step and once again Malone’s guitar work is superb. Keb Mo’ is on hand to jump into the festivities for his tune, “Over and Over.” It’s a nice blues number with some interesting quirks that distinguish it from average fare. The horn section adds quiet class to the track and the backup chorus is way cool. On “Three O’ Clock Blues” B.B. King shouts “da blooz” in his unmistakable fashion. It’s good for what it is, the understanding being that these fellas could do this in their sleep. “Dot Com Blues” is a jazzy jam with perky atmospherics and tight accents punctuated by Harvey Mason on drums and Reggie McBride on bass. What you get here is a lot of fiery licks popping out of the Hammond and Russell’s guitar while Mason gets downright adventurous on his trap kit. This kind of fun is what I came here to hear. “Mr. Johnson” is feverish funk at its best, goaded by Chris Stainton’s speakeasy joint piano and a full horn ensemble. There’s a deliciously sleazy sax solo and Stainton delivers a passionate ride followed by Malone’s tasty guitar lead but then Jimmy takes over and conducts a clinic on how to wring the most from the Hammond B3’s ample guts. He ends with the sultry “Tuition Blues” that starts with a gospel-styled intro on the organ and leads to his pulling every nuance out of the instrument. Russell’s guitar solo is somewhat unorthodox but never boring and you can’t help but be impressed by the tightness of the rhythm section.

What really sticks out above all the fine performances you’ll encounter inside this record is Jimmy Smith’s unequivocal expertise on his instrument of choice. He glides over the double keyboards like an Olympian skater and he knows just which set of levers to pull and push in order to provide the perfect tone for each individual song. Luckily for us he left behind a vast catalog of his music to treasure for centuries to come and it’s my hope that his noble legacy will never be allowed to fade into obscurity. This album is a fitting tribute to him and one I’m glad was completed before his death. The old man still had it. Not a bad disc to put on when you’re not sure what you’re in the mood to hear because Jimmy Smith can always make you feel better.