This came out in 2002 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Maybe it’s because most of the big-name pop and rock acts are hibernating. Maybe it’s because I spent the last month swinging to the Rat Pack Christmas album. Or maybe it’s just because they both start with the letters J and A. Whatever. All I know is I always seem to listen to a lot of jazz in January. Looks like this year is no exception — thanks mainly to a cornucopia of cool titles that landed in stores before the holidays. At least four respected labels — Blue Note, ECM, Impulse and Verve — have impressive and affordable new retrospectives or reissues on the racks right now. Even if you don’t know be-bop from doo-wop, I suggest you give one or two a try. Here’s a little primer to help you get into the swing on Jimmy Smith:
WHO: If you think organ-fuelled acid jazz is a new thing, think again — Hammond guru Jimmy Smith invented it half a century ago with a funky sound and style that broke the ground for much of today’s musical landscape.
WHEN: His first studio album A New Sound, A New Star, came out in 1956; his latest, Dot Com Blues, came out in 2001. I wouldn’t even try to count how many there are between those bookends.
WHAT YOU GET: Seven supremely funky classics — including ’50s gems like The Champ and his 20-minute epic The Sermon — propelled by combustible grooves and topped with Smith’s percolating B-3 magic. Bonus points: Jimmy cuts loose with a rare vocal on a 1965 version of Got My Mojo Workin’.
WHERE HE FITS IN: As a source of inspiration (and samples) for everyone from Medeski, Martin and Wood to Beastie Boys.
