A young Jimmy Smith, on the 1958 album House Party

Jimmy Smith, nicknamed "The Incredible Jimmy Smith", (December 8, 1925 – February 8, 2005) was a jazz musician whose Hammond B-3 electric organ performances helped to popularize this instrument. Image File history File links Jimmy_Smith_House_Party. ... December 8 is the 342nd day (343rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jazz is an original American musical art form that originated around the start of the 20th century in New Orleans, rooted in African American musical styles blended with Western music technique and theory. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Hammond organ. ... Organ in Katharinenkirche, Frankfurt am Main, Germany Modern style pipe organ at the concert hall of Aletheia University in Matou, Taiwan The organ is a keyboard instrument with one or more manuals, and usually a pedalboard. ...

Born James Oscar Smith in Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA. Smith was influenced by both gospel and blues. He first achieved prominence in the 1950s when his recordings became popular on jukeboxes. In the sixties and seventies he helped create the jazz style known as 'funk' or 'soul jazz'. Norristown is a home rule municipality located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 17 miles (27 km) west by north of Philadelphia, on the Schuylkill River, USA. It formerly was a borough operating under Pennsyvanias borough code, its official name is The Borough of Norristown and it is frequently referred to... Official language(s) None Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 160 miles (255 km)  - Length 280 miles (455 km)  - % water 2. ... For other articles with similar names, see Gospel (disambiguation). ... Blues music redirects here. ... A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that can play specially selected songs from self-contained media. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... Funk music originated by African Americans, e. ... Soul jazz was a development of hard bop which incorporated strong blues and gospel influences in music for small groups featuring keyboards, especially the Hammond organ. ...

Musical Style

While the electric organ was used in jazz by Fats Waller and Count Basie, Smith's virtuoso improvisation technique on the Hammond helped to popularize the electric organ as a jazz and blues instrument. For ballads, he played walking bass lines on the bass foot pedals. For uptempo tunes, he would play the bass line on the lower manual and use the pedals for emphasis on the attack of certain notes, which helped to emulate the attack and sound of a string bass. Fats Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an African-American jazz pianist, organist, composer and comedic entertainer. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Philosophically, improvisation often focuses on bringing ones personal awareness into the moment, and on developing a profound understanding for the action one is doing. ... Side and front views of a modern double bass with a French bow. ...

His solos were characterised by percussive chords mixed with very fast melodic improvisation with the right hand. Smith used a drawbar registration in which the drawbars were pulled out so that the drawbar gradations on would read-from the lowest to the highest harmonics-as "868000000" or "888000000" on the lower manual. Smith used the lower manual which for the bass line and to perform accompaniment (also called "comping") chords. He used a similar registration on the upper manual, which he used for soloing, but with the addition of other harmonics during the attack of the note (using the Hammond's "percussion" circuit). Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the taste of the musicians involved, and not in any particular style. ...

Recordings

Smith was a prolific recording artist, recording with the Blue Note label beginning in 1956. His early albums with Blue Note, included Home Cookin' , The Sermon!, Midnight Special, Prayer Meetin' , and Back at the Chicken Shack. In jazz and blues notes added to the major scale for expressive quality, loosely defined by musicians to be an alteration to a scale or chord that makes it sound like the blues. ... The Sermon! is a 1958 album by Jimmy Smith. ...

Smith signed to Verve Records label in 1963. Smith's albums with Verve include: The Cat, The Boss, Root Down, Peter & The Wolf, Any Number Can Win, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Incredible..., Bashin, Got My Mojo Workin, Christmas Cookin, and Organ Grinder Swing. While he was signed to Verve, he began collaborating with guitarist Wes Montgomery, with whom he recorded two albums: The Dynamic Duo with Wes Montgomery and Further Adventures Of Jimmy and Wes. Verve Records is an American Jazz record label, founded by Norman Granz in 1956, which absorbed the catalogues of his earlier labels: Norgran Records and Clef Records (founded 1953). ... The Cat can refer to one of a number of fictional characters. ... John Leslie Wes Montgomery was an African-American jazz guitarist. ...

Smith recorded with a full orchestra and worked with arrangers and conductors such as Lalo Schifrin, Claus Ogerman, and Oliver Nelson. He also worked in small groups such as organ trios that featured jazz musicians such as Kenny Burrell, Donald "Duck" Bailey, Grady Tate, Lee Morgan, Lou Donaldson, Tina Brooks, Jackie McLean and Stanley Turrentine. Lalo Schifrin Lalo Schifrin (born on June 21, 1932) is an Argentine Jewish pianist and composer, most famous for composing the burning-fuse theme tune from the Mission:Impossible television series. ... Claus Ogerman (born April 29, 1930) is a German musical arranger/ orchestrator, conductor, and composer, perhaps best known for his work with Antonio Carlos Jobim. ... Oliver Nelson (1932–1975) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinettist, and composer. ... An organ trio, in a jazz context, is group of three jazz musicians, typically consisting of a Hammond organ player, a drummer, and either a jazz guitarist or a saxophone player. ... THE MAN Kenneth Earl Burrell (born 1931) is an American jazz guitarist. ... Grady Tate, born January 14, 1942 in Durham, North Carolina, is a jazz drummer. ... Lee Morgan Lee Morgan (born July 10, 1938 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-died February 19, 1972 in New York City) was a hard bop trumpeter. ... Lou Donaldson (born November 1, 1926) is a jazz alto saxophonist. ... Harold Floyd (Tina) Brooks (1932–1974) was an American hard bop tenor saxophonist. ... John Lenwood (Jackie) McLean (born May 17, 1932) is an American jazz alto saxophonist and educator, born in New York City. ... Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. ...

Smith had a career revival in the 1980s and 1990s, again recording for Blue Note and Verve, as well as for the Milestone label. Smith also recorded with other artists including: Love And Peace: A Tribute To Horace Silver with Dee Dee Bridgewater (1995) and Blue Bash! with Kenny Burrell (1963). Milestone Records is a United States based jazz record label, founded in 1966 by Orrin Keepnews and Dick Katz in New York City. ...

Influence

Smith influenced many other jazz organists. More recently, Smith influenced bands such as the Beastie Boys, who sampled the bassline from Smith's "Root Down (and Get It)"—and saluted Smith in the lyrics—for their own hit "Root Down"), Medeski, Martin & Wood, and The Hayden-Eckert Ensemble. The Acid Jazz movement also reflects Smith's organ style. In 1999 and 2000 Smith recorded two albums-The Champ and Incredible!- with his protégé, Joey DeFrancesco, a then 28-year-old organist. Smith and DeFrancesco both played on the collaborative album Legacy released in 2005 shortly before Smith's death on February 8, 2005, in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA. The Beastie Boys are a hip hop group from the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan. ... Medeski Martin & Wood (MMW) are a jazz trio formed in 1991, consisting of John Medeski (piano, organ), Billy Martin (drums, percussion) and Chris Wood (double bass, bass guitar). ... Acid jazz (sometimes groove jazz) is a musical genre that combines jazz influences with elements of soul music, funk, disco and hip hop. ... Joey DeFrancesco (b. ... Scottsdale is a satellite city of Phoenix in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA. Named by the New York Times as The Beverly Hills of the Desert,[1] Scottsdale has become internationally recognized as a premiere (and posh) tourist destination, while maintaining its own identity and culture as The Wests Most... Official language(s) English Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Area  Ranked 6th  - Total 113,998 sq mi (295,254 km²)  - Width 310 miles (500 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 0. ...

See also

• Hammond organ
• Organ trio

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Hammond B3. ... An organ trio, in a jazz context, is group of three jazz musicians, typically consisting of a Hammond organ player, a drummer, and either a jazz guitarist or a saxophone player. ...

External links

• Jimmy Smith at the Hard Bop Home Page
• Jimmy Smith on Verve Records
• Jimmy Smith on Blue Note Records
• a comprehensive discography