BlueSpirits

I know I have heard him before, did he play with Woody Shaw, maybe? But I have never gone into his discography at all. Time for me to do so! I knew it was a good thing for me to join this site, haha. I'm becoming hip to so much good stuff it's almost overwhelming. I have no one to talk jazz with in real life..All my friends are strictly rockers or metalheads, for some reason.

Amazing. what a great informative read. Almost makes me wish it went even later to cover the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s.... Am absolutely going to be checking him out.

Yeah, I don't know what it is, but Booker hits me like no other. Would I argue that he is "better" than Coltrane? No. I just love the fact that someone not so heralded can hit me so deep. It was such a great discovery for me. The only other guys I can think of that make me feel that way are Joe Henderson, Woody Shaw and Bobby Hutcherson, in their playing, compositions, everything. It's a certain unnameable something.

I recall reading something like that as well, that he struggles over chord changes and so ended up moving towards a more modal approach in compositions. I really don't hear that at all. Most of all he makes me feel something, ain't that the point? Interesting! Thanks for that info. I'm currently on the hunt for all Booker LPs, as it goes.

Oh yeah! One of my favourites. See what I mean?! It's bluesy, but it's just a bit weird and strange. I also really love this one, though it's pretty straight.

Yup, Timeless is probably on my top 10 albums of all time. Hammer has some great albums- The First Seven Days is far out! Which reminds me, Abercrombie had that amazing organ trio with Dan Wall and Adam Nussbaum! I totally forgot about that. That is exactly the kind of music I've been talking about, haha. I must have played that While We're Young cd thousands of times. Did Dan Wall ever do anything else after that trio? Oh yeah, he was also on Abercrombie's Open Land album. That was a killer.

For sure, I don't really think anyone can rival the work and legacy of Trane, but I totally agree that he should have a bigger profile. I was reading somewhere that it's because he wasn't an innovator, but more just a truly great sideman, one of the so-called journeymen of jazz that so-often get overlooked. Perhaps that is a fair statement, but I do think he came up with something quite unique in his use of the blues vocabulary in a more exploratory way than usual. And his tone is quite unique- it's so loud and bold and he plays ferociously, almost like Jackie Mclean at times. Glad to hear from another big fan!

It is hard for me to describe just how much I love this man's playing. His tone, compositions, ability to go a bit "out" yet still remain rooted in soulful blues. I get chills when I hear him play. I would say he is my favourite tenor of all time, probably just ahead of Joe Henderson and the Coltrane. I recently was looking at a top 50 sax players of all time list (I know, those things are ridiculous) and he wasn't even on there?! His Book Series are incredible, and when paired with Jaki Byard the magic just happens. And there is even an organ tie-in as he played on a couple Don Patterson albums, as well I'm new here, and just wondering...any love for "The Book" ?

Thanks! That would be really neat to check out. I totally forgot about Trudy Pitts. Yes, she is pretty rad. Also, I'm a huge John Abercrombie fan and I even have one Jeff Palmer album (Abracadabra) but I never really checked out his other albums. I should do so. I just listened to The Master(Jimmy Smith) and it was excellent. The production is so clean, you can hear everything going on. I did notice his lines had some more exoticism going on than I have heard from him before, so your observation was spot on. Great album, and now I will listen to number 2! Thanks for the recommendations so far, guys!

Thank you very much for your thoughtful and informative reply. I will take everything you wrote into consideration! Now I'm really intrigued about the SK series, both the SKX and the SK Pro. I will go check out your videos on YouTube. I really do like the modular aspect of the XK5, since I would never be able to afford everything at once, haha! And it looks so beautiful, as well. What a great site you have here, and also keep up the great playing, Jim!

Thanks for your reply! I have not heard any of the artists you mentioned, and I just clicked on the Amina Claudine Myers link and my mind is blown! Yes! That's awesome! It swings. It's "out" but not free. Oh yeah! I knew I would get some good advice. I also love classical music (really into Marcel Dupre) so I'm going to have fun checking out Aaron David Miller. As for later Jimmy, what albums should I check out that show a different style of lines?

Hi there!, I am a lifetime lover of the Hammond B-3 sound, but I myself have never owned an organ. I am a guitar player(mostly jazz) who also plays a bit of piano. I am seriously looking into getting an organ for my home studio, and I was wondering if anyone could give me any advice. I'm looking for something portable, and I would like the ability to have two manuals eventually, as well as add a pedalboard. I've been trying to do some research on Hammond's site, and it seems like the X-k5 is what I'm looking for, in that it can have two manuals and I can attach a pedalboard? Also, it has a larger range of drawbars compared the cheaper Xk-1c. I'm looking for something with the closest sound to the B-3 as possible, but in a modern, portable package. Sorry if this is such a newbie question, but what would I be looking at, as far as required purchases? An X-k5(assuming I start with just one manual), a separate pedalboard, a Leslie(or two) and some kind of stand and all the necessary cables? Thanks for any advice!

Hello! This is my first posting in here at organissimo. I discovered the site a couple months back, which led to me discovering the band as well. I have always been a lover of the Hammond organ sound, and am a life-long jazz enthusiast. I play guitar and trumpet and a bit of piano, as well. Anyway, I have recently been going for a deep dive into organ jazz, trying to discover artists I may have overlooked or slept on. I seem to be attracted to a very specific type of organ jazz, (and jazz in general). That would be the Larry Young style, obviously Unity and Contrasts, Into Something, Of Love and Peace, Mothership. You get the idea. I decided to learn as much as I could about the famous jazz organ artists, and have been attempting to go methodically through their discographies. Here are the artists I have gone through so far, and what I have discovered. Jimmy Smith- Obviously amazing. I particularly like the late 50's to mid 60s stuff. And yet, this style eventually leaves me wanting something with more harmonic complexity. Baby Face Willette- Cool, but not something I would put on again. Richard "Groove" Holmes- Some very cool albums, like After Hours and Get Up and Get it, but also a lot of overly sweet and poppy albums. John Patton- I really like his sound, but man, I found the compositions extremely repetitive and uninteresting. He seemed to get a lot more interesting from album to album. Accent on the Blues I found quite awesome. Jack McDuff- Really good and funky, greasy. But again, not that harmonically interesting to me. Especially like Moon Rappin' and To Seek a New Home. Jimmy McGriff- Nothing that I heard really appealed to me. Huge discography, so maybe I am overlooking a lot. Johnny Hammond Smith- Reminds me a lot of Groove Holmes. The more bop-oriented stuff is great. Albums like Black Coffee and Open House. Shirley Scott- Awesome. Now that's some swinging jazz, playing a lot of standards with chord changes beyond blues. She lost me in her 70s stuff, though. Rhoda Scott- From what I've heard so far, she is most excellent and can do it all. Reuben Wilson- I was excited to check out his albums after reading about Blue Mode and Love Bug, and man was I disappointed. Especially with such a killer line-up. The tunes sounded aimless and overly saccharine and poppy. Don Patterson- Ok, this guy kicks some serious ass! What amazing bop lines, great sounds, can burn over complex changes. Probably my second favourite, after Larry Young. Freddie Roach- I actually dig his albums quite a bit. I like his understated approach, and there are subtle notes he plays that i find fascinating. He gets a great atmospheric sound. Dr. Lonnie Smith- Amazing. I especially like his modern work on Blue Note. This is the more harmonically complex and exploratory sound I love. In my top 5, for sure. Melvin Rhyne- Really dig his playing on both the albums he led and those with Wes Montgomery. Charles Earland- Funky as hell. When I'm in the mood for that style, he would be my go to. Charles Kynard- He would be in my top 5, for sure. His first album was an excellent blend of Gospel and jazz. His later 60s stuff got funkier, but I hear a certain sophistication to his note choices. Reelin' With the Feelin' is on fire from start to finish, I guess that wraps up the big-name classic guys and gals. As for more modern players. Joey DeFrancesco can do it all and his discography is so large and daunting, but I know he has that sound I am looking for in there somewhere Barbara Dennerlein is pretty amazing. I love her compositions and playing, but a lot of the production isn't to my liking. Something cold about it? Organissimo- From what I have been able to hear, the best blend of modern and classic organ jazz that I've heard to date. Larry Goldings- The most interesting player I have heard so far. Very neat compositions and playing. John Medeski- Love his sound and approach, but actually prefer his piano playing hahah. My apologies for the length of this post. I'm hoping those more knowledgeable than myself on the issue can direct me to the stuff that I'm craving, haha. I admit I am seeing this very simplistically here- that there is the repetitive, blues/funk organ jazz which I dig, but only for a short while. Then there's the more modal or bop stuff that I really love, with more complex chords and interesting melodies, and I'm just hoping some of you can direct me to specific artists or albums that I might have overlooked. Thanks! And thanks for letting me join this community,