Weekend Song – Jimmy Smith
November 10, 2007
Jimmy Smith had an improvisation vocabularly that would make most soloists reel – this is over three chords and the fire never dies down.
On top of that he’s got great rhythm and a sense of showmanship that comes across in this recording from 1964. I saw him play in a club in Camden a few years back and he had grown men playing “air hammond” without a care in the world.
My dad used to play this all the time when I was a kid, his most famous recording “Got My Mojo Workin’” is a great tune but this tops even that.
I feel like Humphrey Littleton now. A national treasure, by the way, Humph.
I’ve had a great week and here’s how I feel by the end of it.
Listen: The Cat
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Related page
Weekend Song archive
6 comments
Fantastic choice, Cliff. Nobody could make a Hammond M40 sound quite like Jimmy Smith, although, IMO, Jimmy McGriff came a close second. May I recommend a listen to his ‘All About My Girl’, if you can find a link.
Chairwoman – Jimmy McGriff was excellent! People get them confused. Both from Philadelphia as well, and both played in the 60’s. Now I really feel like Humph.
ooo, that was nice!
nice is the wrong word, what I meant to say of course, was groovy. Is groovy allowed?
Nice!
I know. Thanks all – it’s good to get feedback about the Saturday song.
I put a lot of thought to what goes up here, so hearing back is always nice. I mean groovy.
Leave a comment. Play nice. I will turn this blog around.