Jimmy Smith Has Passed

[Guest ariceffron]

you were at big johns funeral? what was that like. i saw him soon before he died and he was at the top of his game

[brownie]

At long last, AP gets the news out:

Jazz Organist Jimmy Smith Dies at 79

Wed Feb 9, 8:15 PM ET  Entertainment - AP Music

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Jimmy Smith, an award-winning jazz organist who was considered a pioneer with the instrument, has died of natural causes at his home. He was 79.

Smith's death Tuesday in Scottsdale was announced by officials at Concord Records.

"Jimmy Smith transformed the organ into a jazz instrument. Jazz has lost a pioneering talent, not to mention a one-of-a-kind personality," National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Dana Gioia said Wednesday.

Born in Norristown, Pa., in 1925, Smith ruled the Hammond B-3 organ in the 1950s and 1960s, fusing R&B, blues, and gospel influences with bebop references.

Smith's sessions with record label Blue Note from 1956 to 1963 included collaborations with Kenny Burrell, Lee Morgan, Lou Donaldson, Tina Brooks, Jackie McLean, Ike Quebec and Stanley Turrentine. He started playing the Hammond organ in 1951.

"Jimmy was one of the greatest and most innovative musicians of our time," said fellow Hammond B-3 artist Joey DeFrancesco.

The two recently recorded an album together called Legacy, which is scheduled to be released next week.

[brownie]

The New York Times article (by Ben Ratliff) on Jimmy Smith...

Ratliff says Jimmy Smith was 76, not 79 as the standard biographies indicate.

February 10, 2005

Jimmy Smith, Jazz Organist and Pioneer, Is Dead at 76

By BEN RATLIFF

Jimmy Smith, who made the Hammond organ one of the most popular sounds in jazz beginning in the mid-1950's, died on Tuesday at his home in Phoenix. He was 76.

He died of unspecified natural causes, said his stepson and former manager, Michael Ward, who also said that his age of 76 was based on his birth certificate and not the birth date found in most reference books.

Before Jimmy Smith, the electric organ had been nearly a novelty in jazz; it was he who made it an important instrument in the genre and influenced nearly every subsequent notable organist in jazz and rock, including Jimmy McGriff, Jack McDuff, Larry Young, Shirley Scott, Al Kooper and Joey DeFrancesco.

By 1955 - which coincidentally was the year Hammond introduced its most popular model, the B-3 - he had an organ trio with a new sound that would thereafter become the model for groups in what became known as "organ rooms," the urban bars up and down the East Coast specializing in precisely the kind of blues-oriented, swinging, funky music that Mr. Smith epitomized. He continued touring and recording until just before his death.

Born in 1928, Mr. Smith grew up in a musical family in Norristown, Pa., near Philadelphia; by his early teens he was competently playing stride piano and performing as a dancer in a team with his father, a day-laboring plasterer who also played piano at night.

He left school in the eighth grade, never to return, and joined the Navy at the age of 15. When he finished his service in 1947, he played professionally and studied music for two years on the G.I. bill at the Ornstein School of Music.

In the early 1950's he worked around Philadelphia, playing rhythm and blues with Don Gardner's Sonotones. In 1952, or perhaps 1953, he met Wild Bill Davis, the organ player who pioneered the organ-trio format, at a club. Mr. Smith asked him how long it would take to learn the organ; Davis replied that it would take years to learn the pedals alone. (In Mr. Smith's retelling, the number of years varied between 4 and 15.) Playing piano at night and practicing organ during the day, Mr. Smith studied a chart of the instrument's 25 foot pedals and claimed that he played fluent walking-bass lines with his feet within three months.

By 1955 he was on his way to making his new organ trio sound pervasive.

Like many other great jazz musicians, Mr. Smith insisted that the key to finding his own sound was through studying musicians who did not play his instrument.

"While others think of the organ as a full orchestra," he wrote in a short piece for The Hammond Times in 1964, "I think of it as a horn. I've always been an admirer of Charlie Parker, and I try to sound like him. I wanted that single-line sound like a trumpet, a tenor or an alto saxophone."

He also made heavy use of the B-3's "percussion" sound, a circuit controlled by one of its drawbar switches that gives it a leaner tone, closer to that of a piano.

Partly through the agency of Babs Gonzalez, the singer and radio disc jockey, Mr. Smith was signed to the Blue Note label, making his first albums for the label in 1956; some well-received gigs that year at the Cafe Bohemia in New York heightened the excitement about his new sound.

He made many popular records for Blue Note and Verve, among them "Groovin' at Small's Paradise," "The Cat" (with the arranger Lalo Schifrin), a few records with the guitarist Wes Montgomery and in 1965 his vocal version of "Got My Mojo Workin'," arranged by Oliver Nelson.

In the mid-1970's Mr. Smith moved to Los Angeles, where he opened a club, Jimmy Smith's Jazz Supper Club; he played there when he could and otherwise toured in order to keep the club afloat.

He married and had a family; his survivors include a son, Jimmy Jr., and a daughter, Jia, both of Philadelphia, as well as two sisters, Anita Johnson and Janet Smith, also of Philadelphia.

Mr. Smith had lived in Phoenix since January 2004. Last summer he recorded "Legacy," to be released next week on Concord, which paired him in duets with Mr. DeFrancesco.

Edited February 10, 2005 by brownie

[Peter Johnson]

Wow, I've really been affected by this, much more than I initially thought I would...I haven't been conscious of the passing of a lot of our idols in my late indoctrination into this world, but this is really tough...Elvin, Jimmy...damn...

[sidewinder]

Still absolutely sweet FA mention of this on sites such as the BBC but I see that Robbie Williams and the Doobie drummer are getting headlines under 'entertainment'. Words fail me...

[Lazaro Vega]

I wouldn't typify Wild Bill Davis as a novelty player. He was more of the Big Band era as seen in the popularity of his arrangement on "April in Paris" as played by the Basie band, and the invitations from The Maestro Duke Ellington to play and record often near the end of Duke's career, not to mention Wild Bill's work with Johnny Hodges. That isn't exactly novelty music. Smith brought the instrument into what might be thought of as back to basics reconsideration of the language of Bird, and another attempt to bring the music back to the Black audience.

[Soul Stream]

you were at big johns funeral? what was that like. i saw him soon before he died and he was at the top of his game

yes, along w/george braith and i actually rode back w/ben dixon. lou donaldson gave a great speach. beautiful all the way around. and yes, big john was at the top of his game.....

[Ron S]

From today's Philadelphia Inquirer (nice obit, except that she says Coltrane revolutionized alto playing). Apparently, Jimmy's sisters and kids still live in the Philly area.

Jimmy Smith, jazz organ trailblazer

By Annette John-Hall

Inquirer Staff Writer

What Miles Davis did for the trumpet and John Coltrane did for the alto saxophone, Jimmy Smith did for the organ.

The Philadelphia-area jazzman, who elevated the Hammond B3 from a novelty instrument to revolutionary heights, creating a gritty and exuberant blend of hard bop, blues and funk, died Tuesday of natural causes at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz. His family said he was 76.

"He was a guy that should be put on the level with all the other great masters in jazz," said guitarist Kenny Burrell, who collaborated with Mr. Smith on 12 albums in the late 1950s and '60s. "He wasn't the first to play [jazz] organ, but he was the most creative."

Philadelphia saxophonist Odean Pope, who shared the bandstand with Mr. Smith in the late '50s at Spider Kelly's club in Center City, said, "Jimmy was a true forerunner, a genius. Some people were meant to do certain things. [Mr. Smith] was meant to play the organ."

Born in Norristown as the second of six children, James Oscar Smith learned to play stride piano at an early age. At 8, he won the Major Bowes amateur contest in Philadelphia five weeks in a row, said his sister, Anita Johnson, and the family was asked not to bring him back.

After being discharged from the Navy, he used the GI Bill to attend the Hamilton School of Music in New York and Ornstein's School of Music in Philadelphia, where he studied bass and piano.

Upon switching to organ in 1953, Mr. Smith's reputation grew. Inspired by organist "Wild" Bill Davis and horn players Coleman Hawkins, Don Byars and Arnet Cobb, Mr. Smith formulated horn solos with his right hand and thick chords with his left.

His was a sound unlike any other. With his first album in 1956 - A New Sound... A New Star... Jimmy Smith at the Organ, on Blue Note - and appearances at Birdland and the Newport Jazz Festival in 1957, he became the one to emulate.

A tall, slender man with long piano fingers and a formidable presence, "Jimmy was a very funny person with lots of edges. He wasn't subtle," Burrell recalled. "He was very outspoken and got right to the point, but he had a beautiful heart. His music was that way, too."

Burrell's cool, pastel electric guitar provided the perfect complement to Mr. Smith's vivid, gospel-inflected organ. The two teamed up for some of Mr. Smith's most popular albums: The Sermon! (1958), Home Cookin' (1959), Back at the Chicken Shack (1960), and Midnight Special (1960).

"We had some kind of magic, simpatico," Burrell said. "Musically, Jimmy and I had a thing that always worked, which happened very rarely in my career. I treasured that."

Mr. Smith signed with Verve Records in the 1970s and toured Europe and Japan during the '80s and '90s.

He picked up many accolades, including the 2005 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master award, its highest jazz honor, which he received with Burrell last month in Washington.

NEA Chairman Dana Gioia said yesterday, "Jazz has lost a pioneering talent, not to mention a one-of-a-kind personality."

Mr. Smith is survived by his children, Constance Perez of Norristown, Karen Jackson of Philadelphia, and James Smith Jr. and Jia Smith, both of Lafayette Hill; sisters Anita Johnson of Harleysville and Janet Taylor of Norristown; and numerous grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contact staff writer Annette John-Hall at 215-854-4986 or ajohnhall@phillynews.com.

Edited February 10, 2005 by Ron S

[brownie]

A more informed and personal article in French was in this morning's edition of Liberation (sorry no english translation):

http://www.liberation.fr/page.php?Article=274554

Le Monde simply wrote around the AFP story on Jimmy Smith's death.

[LWayne]

Jimmy-Goodbye and God Bless...

I had a chance to catch his group with Mark Whitfield on guitar in Seattle at the Jazz Alley. While he was certainly not in a good mood that night, as he shouted down an over exhuberant fan in the back of the room, the music was transcendent.

You will be missed...

LWayne

[chris olivarez]

Finally saw it on AP-two days after the fact.

[JohnS]

I always seem to come back from holiday to sad news. I'll miss you Jimmy, Thanks for everything. RIP.

Caught him live a few years back, a memorable evening.

[sidewinder]

Welcome back John.

At long last the BBC site has caught up with the news..

Smith Obit

Noteworthy for what will probably be the first and last occasion of a Tina Brooks mention on BBC news

[michel devos]

I have seen Jimmy Smith for so many years with the same appearance, playing clubs or concert halls, issuing records after records, I probably imagined he was kind of immortal...Sadly enough I am proved wrong today.Goodbye Jimmy, we'll all miss you

[BruceH]

We can at least be thankful that he had a long life. RIP

[randissimo]

I wouldn't typify Wild Bill Davis as a novelty player. He was more of the Big Band era as seen in the popularity of his arrangement on "April in Paris" as played by the Basie band, and the invitations from The Maestro Duke Ellington to play and record often near the end of Duke's career, not to mention Wild Bill's work with Johnny Hodges. That isn't exactly novelty music. Smith brought the instrument into what might be thought of as back to basics reconsideration of the language of Bird, and another attempt to bring the music back to the Black audience.

I think Jimmy Smith's style was predominantly steeped in the blues.. He always played everything soulfully, often mixing blues influenced runs and phrases into his solos.. There was also bebop influences, but mostly blues..

[Soul Stream]

I wouldn't typify Wild Bill Davis as a novelty player. He was more of the Big Band era as seen in the popularity of his arrangement on "April in Paris" as played by the Basie band, and the invitations from The Maestro Duke Ellington to play and record often near the end of Duke's career, not to mention Wild Bill's work with Johnny Hodges. That isn't exactly novelty music. Smith brought the instrument into what might be thought of as back to basics reconsideration of the language of Bird, and another attempt to bring the music back to the Black audience.

I think Jimmy Smith's style was predominantly steeped in the blues.. He always played everything soulfully, often mixing blues influenced runs and phrases into his solos.. There was also bebop influences, but mostly blues..

Hmmm. I don't know Randy. I put on "Groovin' At Small's Paradise" or "The Boss" and hear a lot of very advanced harmonic sh*t going on in a way only Coltrane might could relate to. Jimmy could play the hell out of the blues and could bring the blues into his playing at anytime. Then again, he could shun the blues totally and go dancing in a harmonic wonderland all his own.

[mmilovan]

Now, this is a little to much for me. First Jacquet, then Shaw, now Smith.

A hell of musican he was.

His art was Sermon.

R.I.P. Mr. Smith

[Jazz Kat]

I wouldn't typify Wild Bill Davis as a novelty player. He was more of the Big Band era as seen in the popularity of his arrangement on "April in Paris" as played by the Basie band, and the invitations from The Maestro Duke Ellington to play and record often near the end of Duke's career, not to mention Wild Bill's work with Johnny Hodges. That isn't exactly novelty music. Smith brought the instrument into what might be thought of as back to basics reconsideration of the language of Bird, and another attempt to bring the music back to the Black audience.

I think Jimmy Smith's style was predominantly steeped in the blues.. He always played everything soulfully, often mixing blues influenced runs and phrases into his solos.. There was also bebop influences, but mostly blues..

Yep. Home Cookin' is practically filled with it. Wait, it IS filled with it!

[randissimo]

I wouldn't typify Wild Bill Davis as a novelty player. He was more of the Big Band era as seen in the popularity of his arrangement on "April in Paris" as played by the Basie band, and the invitations from The Maestro Duke Ellington to play and record often near the end of Duke's career, not to mention Wild Bill's work with Johnny Hodges. That isn't exactly novelty music. Smith brought the instrument into what might be thought of as back to basics reconsideration of the language of Bird, and another attempt to bring the music back to the Black audience.

I think Jimmy Smith's style was predominantly steeped in the blues.. He always played everything soulfully, often mixing blues influenced runs and phrases into his solos.. There was also bebop influences, but mostly blues..

Hmmm. I don't know Randy. I put on "Groovin' At Small's Paradise" or "The Boss" and hear a lot of very advanced harmonic sh*t going on in a way only Coltrane might could relate to. Jimmy could play the hell out of the blues and could bring the blues into his playing at anytime. Then again, he could shun the blues totally and go dancing in a harmonic wonderland all his own.

Jimmy Smith played piano before his discovery and love affair with the Hammond B3 organ. A lot of his harmonic approach and chord voicings originated from the piano and a lineage of piano players. There was always an underlying blues element in almost every tune he played which I believe was in part because of the obvious influence of the blues in most genres of jazz as well as the unique "one of a kind" design of the organ & leslie and it's deep and soulful range of sounds..

Edited February 12, 2005 by randissimo

[Soul Stream]

I wouldn't typify Wild Bill Davis as a novelty player. He was more of the Big Band era as seen in the popularity of his arrangement on "April in Paris" as played by the Basie band, and the invitations from The Maestro Duke Ellington to play and record often near the end of Duke's career, not to mention Wild Bill's work with Johnny Hodges. That isn't exactly novelty music. Smith brought the instrument into what might be thought of as back to basics reconsideration of the language of Bird, and another attempt to bring the music back to the Black audience.

I think Jimmy Smith's style was predominantly steeped in the blues.. He always played everything soulfully, often mixing blues influenced runs and phrases into his solos.. There was also bebop influences, but mostly blues..

Hmmm. I don't know Randy. I put on "Groovin' At Small's Paradise" or "The Boss" and hear a lot of very advanced harmonic sh*t going on in a way only Coltrane might could relate to. Jimmy could play the hell out of the blues and could bring the blues into his playing at anytime. Then again, he could shun the blues totally and go dancing in a harmonic wonderland all his own.

Jimmy Smith played piano before his discovery and love affair with the Hammond B3 organ. A lot of his harmonic approach and chord voicings originated from the piano and a lineage of piano players. There was always an underlying blues element in almost every tune he played which I believe was in part because of the obvious influence of the blues in most genres of jazz as well as the unique "one of a kind" design of the organ & leslie and it's deep and soulful range of sounds..

well...when you put it that way!

[Soul Stream]

What about this film?

Jimmy O Smith

what tha faaa.....HOW DO I GET THIS!!!!!

Same here. Been search since I came across this today. Hopefully it still exists somewhere.

JOS Organist:

Closest we can get

---

Now playing: WKCR - Columbia University

Is there SERIOUSLY any way of finding this. It's GOT to be out there somewhere. Any ideas?!

[Joe G]

I saw him once, at the Detroit Jazz festival, a few years ago. He played a short but good set in front of a very vocal audience. People would yell out in between songs, and he'd say something like, "I know, I know - Walk on the goddam Wild Side!" At one point he noticed the huge tv screen positioned at the top of the seating area, situated there for people walking by on the ground level. He got this look of wonder in his eyes, pointed at the screen, which was showing a closeup of his face, and said, "Look at that! That's me! Jimmy Smith!"

Even though he wasn't that strong, playing short solos (Phil Upchurch played well that night), it was still a lot of fun. I couldn't stop smiling. Some of the most interesting music he played was during the soundcheck. He just unleashed this barrage of notes that went all over the place. Our friend Duncan McMillian, (himself a fine organist from Detroit) and I just looked at each other like, "what was THAT?!"

[Soul Stream]

They had a nice "in memorium" of Jimmy on This Week With George Stephonopolus. Nice to see one bit of national TV coverage on him. By the way, was this on the Nightly News at all? I'm guessing not.

[connoisseur series500]

I've been buying up some of the Jimmy Smith cds that weren't in my collection. I just ordered "Fourmost" and "Fourmost returned." I also order the BN with Jimmy Smith and Grant Green called, I think, "I'm movin on." I owned it once and sold it. As usual, I'm buying it back.

Anyway, I've got most of his stuff, but just wanted to complete my collection. He was the greatest.