Jimmy Smith - First Decade 1953-62 (CD)

Jimmy Smith was one of the first musicians to use the Hammond organ in jazz and popular music, taking it up in 1951 and establishing a formidable reputation in Philadelphia, before coming to prominence with his 1956 appearances at New York's Café Bohemia., followed by dates and Birdland and the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival, cementing his place as the pioneer of the Hammond in jazz and R&B. After occasional recordings early in the '50s, he recorded regularly with his own trio from 1956, and this collection chronicles that first decade of his career as he effectively established a sub-genre within popular music, recording prolifically for Blue Note while touring regularly, becoming a favourite with club audiences, who enjoyed the crossover feel of his music, incorporating contemporary rhythm and blues styles with sophisticated bop influences, as he used the organ to create a group sound in what became a familiar trio line-up with guitar and drums. This great value 4-CD set, includes tracks from most of his significant sessions and albums along with some 'live' recordings, and it provides an excellent overview of both the best-known and perhaps less familiar work from the formative decade of a career that lasted half a century, and is a great introduction to one of the influential and innovative figures in jazz and R&B in the post-war era.

Track List:

Disc: 1

1. Sonotone Bounce (Don Gardner Trio)
2. The High and the Mighty (Jimmy Smith)
3. Joy (Jimmy Smith)
4. Moonlight in Vermont (Jimmy Smith)
5. The Champ (Jimmy Smith)
6. Bayou (Jimmy Smith)
7. My Funny Valentine (Jimmy Smith)
8. Judo Mambo (Jimmy Smith)
9. The Preacher (Jimmy Smith)
10. Falling in Love with Love (Jimmy Smith)
11. Summertime (Jimmy Smith)
12. Yardbird Suite (Jimmy Smith)

Disc: 2

1. Plum Nellie (Jimmy Smith)
2. All the Things You Are (Jimmy Smith)
3. I Can't Get Started (Jimmy Smith)
4. Round Midnight (Jimmy Smith)
5. Soft Winds (Jimmy Smith)
6. Blues After All (Jimmy Smith)
7. Imagination (Jimmy Smith)
8. After Hours (Jimmy Smith)
9. Slightly Monkish (Jimmy Smith)
10. Confirmation (Jimmy Smith)

Disc: 3

1. The Sermon (Jimmy Smith)
2. It Could Happen to You (Jimmy Smith)
3. Cool Blues (Jimmy Smith)
4. Motoring Along (Jimmy Smith)
5. Since I Fell for You (Jimmy Smith)
6. The Swingin' Shepherd Blues (Jimmy Smith)
7. See See Rider (Jimmy Smith)
8. Gracie (Jimmy Smith)
9. A Night in Tunisia (Jimmy Smith)
10. What's New (Jimmy Smith)

Disc: 4

1. Sister Rebecca (Jimmy Smith)
2. Back at the Chicken Shack (Jimmy Smith)
3. Midnight Special (Jimmy Smith)
4. Jumpin' the Blues (Jimmy Smith)
5. Lonesome Road (Jimmy Smith)
6. Honeysuckle Rose (Jimmy Smith)
7. Walk on the Wild Side (Jimmy Smith)
8. Step Right Up (Jimmy Smith)
9. Ol' Man River (Jimmy Smith)
10. Bashin' (Jimmy Smith)