Conference cookie::notes$archive:cd_v1

1228.0. "Jimmy Smith on CD" by AQUA::ROST (Lizard King or Bozo Dionysius?) Thu Jun 16 1988 08:51

It's hard to imagine what the last 32 years of music might have been like
if Jimmy Smith hadn't burst on the scene in 1956.  While others had played
the Hammond organ in jazz before him (Count Basie had recorded on it in the
1930s), Smith was the first to apply the language of bebop to the
instrument.  His presence was immediately felt, too, as by the early 1960s,
the organ combo, typically an organ, drums tenor sax and sometimes guitar,
was a staple of the jazz world. 

Blue Note last year reissued two classic early (1957) Jimmy Smith albums,
"Houseparty" and "The Sermon".  On LP, the albums are reproductions of the
original Lps.  On CD, however, they have done considerable reshuffling of
the material.  Both albums were recorded during two marathon jam sessions
featuring Smith, trumpeter Lee Morgan, Lou Donaldson, George Coleman and
Tina Brooks on saxes, Kenny Burrell and Eddie Daniels on guitar, Curtis
Fuller on trombone, plus drummer Art Blakey and Smith's regular drummer
(name escapes me here).  These two sessions yielded the "Houseparty" and
"Sermon" albums in the 50s, plus a release in the 70s called "Confirmation"
and some additional sides issued only in Japan. 

Blue Note has rearranged the sessions in chronological order, then put them
into two CDs, using the original covers and titles.  Between the two
CDs you get 141 minutes of music. 

The music runs the gamut form some Charlie Parker staples ("Au Privave" and
"Cherokee"), standards ("What is This Thing Called Love") and some original
blues-based tunes by Smith and Burrell.  The majority of the cuts are long
blowing vehicles.  "Cherokee" and "The Sermon" clock in at over twenty
minutes, and most of the rest are ten minutes or more.  This gives everyone
a chance to really stretch out, which they do to excellent effect. 

The sound is excellent; the original sessions were mixed live to two-track
by Rudy Van Gelder and the transfer from the master to CD is very well
done. Hiss is very low, and clarity of the instruments is superb,
particularly considering the age of the recording. 

Overall, these two CDs represent a much hotter taste of Jimmy Smith than
the many Verve reissues on the market, which are mostly heavily arranged.
If you like your jazz *greasy* this is the place to start.  BTW, both of
these are available as cutouts, so you can pick these up for the same price
as the LP and get almost an hour of extra tracks.