Jimmy Smith, RIP

If you like your music with an ounce of soul or groove, say a little thank you to Jimmy Smith. Smith made the organ hip, coaxing out sounds that were at once sophisticated and funky.

You can't go wrong with anything in his catalog, I'm partial to his work with guitarist Wes Montgomery.

Comments

[Sandy]

OK, somebody at Jimmy's record company is a moron. Most likely all of them, because everybody who's not a real musician in the music industry is either worse than Hitler or a drooling mouth-breather. But seriously--marketroids, if you are PROMOTING AN ORGAN PLAYER, make sure the samples you submit to iTunes HAVE SOME ORGAN IN THEM.

The only one of the first three I clicked on that had organ was him comping behind a guitar solo.

The RIAA need only look at itself to see why it can't sell air conditioners to the other residents of hell.

[josef]

So? Instead of a funeral or a memorial, they should just shove a bone up his ass and let the dogs drag him off.

[AIX42]

^?^ the CBC ran a story on the guy, played some tunes, featuring the actual organ playing. Wicked cool. And Sandy, when you're right you're right.

[Gwyn Thomas]

"Organ Grinder Swing" was the first jazz LP I ever bought,great stuff,RIP Jimmy.Whatever happened to his original guitarist Thornel Schwartz?

[arbitraryaardvark]

Wes Montgomery had a grandkid, Anthony Montgomery, who was in the just-canceled Enterprise. He's looking for funding and tech support to do a documentary on Wes.