Covering prime early recordings from 1956-1960 and one mid-'80s cut,
Blue Note
's
The Best of Jimmy Smith
offers up a fine introduction to the trailblazing
jazz
organist.
Smith
sessions not only introduced the world to the complex solo possibilities of the Hammond B3 organ, but simultaneously ushered in the
soul
-
era of the '60s, spawning a wealth of fine imitators in the process. Before delving into more commercial terrain on
Verve
in the late '60s,
cut a ton of jam-session dates for
, often with the help of
hard bop
luminaries like trumpeter
Lee Morgan
, alto saxophonist
Lou Donaldson
, tenor saxophonists
Tina Brooks
and
Stanley Turrentine
, and drummers
Art Blakey
Donald Bailey
. All are heard here on classic cuts like
"The Sermon,"
"Back at the Chicken Shack,"
"The Jumpin' Blues,"
with
regular
Turrentine
and a young
Morgan
availing themselves in especially fine form. For his part,
eats up the scenery on all the sides here, taking his solo to particularly impressive heights on a fleetly swinging rendition of
"When Johnny Comes Marching Home."
Rounded out by a 1986 reading of
Blue Mitchell
samba
groove
"Fungii Mama"
(marking
's return to
after a 23 year absence),
qualifies both as an excellent first-choice disc for
newcomers and an appropriate entree into the
catalog. ~ Stephen Cook