dude, you've gotta check out some Jimmy Smith records. he did some fine ones with and without the great Wes Mongomery.

seriously.

I'll second that!

For the neophyte, there's also a great compilation of Smith's Verve work called, "Roots of Acid Jazz".

I was raised on this stuff, and there's nothing like the sound of a big fat juicy B-3. (*which sadly, you rarely hear anymore)


*Joey DeFrancesco is another must

And Larry Young, and Jack McDuff, and Lonnie Smith, and John Patton... Even Count Basie dabbled in organ on occasion, although it sounded much more like skating rink music back then.

But really, if you don't know Jimmy Smith, you don't know the first thing about organ jazz.

The two albums with Wes Montgomery are really good, especially as the big band tracks are orchestrated by Oliver Nelson. Also The Cat, with the orchestra arranged by Lalo Schiffrin, is a '60s classic which probably should have been used for the soundtrack to Austin Powers rather than the Quincy Jones track.

Other good Verve albums are Bashin', which really defined the B-3 sound for the next decade or two, particularly for rock music; Organ Grinder Swing where Smith does his Yngwie bit (too many notes) and absolutely wails; and Got My Mojo Workin'/Hoochie Coochie Man, wherein Smith goes pop by dabbling in singing (sort of).

They've also reissued Root Down, which is in that early '70s electric groove of the straight jazz guys who couldn't quite bring themselves to play fusion. I'm not quite sure what to make of that album, but I hear it's been sampled by the Beastie Boys or some such act.

For straight hard bop and early funky jazz, there's the earlier Blue Note stuff; that's where Smith really made his mark, releasing like 30 albums in five years. I really like the '80s CD reissue of The Sermon, from a hard bop jam session including Lou Donaldson, Art Blakey, Tina Brooks, Lee Morgan, and Kenny Burrell. However you can only get the Rudy Van Gelder edition anymore, which has a completely different track listing. You have get the companion RVG disc, House Party to get the two Charlie Parker tunes from that session.

Another good jam session is Open House/Plain Talk with Jackie McLean, Ike Quebec and Blue Mitchell in the front line. That session was a little funkier. Back At the Chicken Shack and Midnight Special, featuring Stanley Turrentine, are good 'n' greasy funky jazz bordering on R&B.

Jimmy Smith occasionally releases a new album - Dot Com Blues, which features several guest vocalists, is his most recent as far as I know. Damn! and Angel Eyes, from the mid '90s, feature some of today's brighter lights, Nicholas Payton, Roy Hargrove, Christian McBride, and so on. Of those two I prefer the former release as the latter is mostly ballads.

And I would definitely recommend seeing Jimmy Smith live if you get the chance.

there's also a great Wes Montgomery Trio record with organ called "A Dynamic New Sound".

there's also a great Wes Montgomery Trio record with organ called "A Dynamic New Sound".

Is that with Melvin Rhyne on organ? 'Cause that's who Montgomery played with when he first recorded for Riverside.

I gather the standard organ trio was organ-guitar-drums, so if you go looking for good jazz guitar recordings you often stumble across organ players. And what some call the first fusion group, Tony Williams' Lifetime, was essentially an organ trio.

Guys, thanks for the tips here. I'll definitely hunt some of these things down. I do love a nice juicy organ sound.

You all should write some individual review pieces for these albums.

Educate me!

al, here's all you need to know about wes montgomery:

"I never practice my guitar... from time to time, I just open the case and throw in a piece of raw meat."

i should write something though...

Mark S., for once, I have to resort to an "LOL" on the Wes quote -- nothing else fits.

And great stuff from JR, esp. rounding out the B-3 list.

re. Lalo Schiffrin arrangements - whoa! Thanks for the memories. I might even have that vinyl layin' around here somewhere. Unless I wore it out over at the love-in/crash pad.

And man, "Organ Grinder Swing" is one of my favorites.

And I love the Glenn Gould effect, too, where Smith mumbles the melody just beneath the surface.

This stuff is just too cool.