Posted on 02/09/2005 8:40:48 PM PST by JellyJam
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Jimmy Smith, an award-winning jazz organist who was considered a pioneer with the instrument, died of natural causes Tuesday at his home here. He was 79.
"Jimmy Smith transformed the organ into a jazz instrument. Jazz has lost a pioneering talent, not to mention a one of a kind personality," National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Dana Gioia said Wednesday.
(Excerpt) Read more at philly.com ...
Amazing talent. ....no one like him. Love his recordings with (guitarist) Wes Montgomery.
RIP, Mr. Smith.
Very few could play a Hammond B-3 like him.
Godspeed, Jimmy....thanks.
I have to admit, I knew little about him till recently, after a co-worker turned me on to him. "Back at the Chicken Shack," "Bashin'," "Organ Grinder Swing," "The Cat," "Jimmy & Wes The Dynamic Duo" - awesome stuff. What a legacy of great recordings he left behind.
There was nothing like "Walk on the Wild Side." RIP Mr. Smith- your talent will be missed.
Those were the days. RIP Jimmy. You were the master.
... and get this, he just finished an album with Joey DeFrancesco and it's being released next Tuesday. And he was supposed to go on tour with him. What a shame.
im looking for jazz music in the style of vince guaraldi,oscar peterson,art blakey,stanley turrentine
Did a radio gig in the mid-late 70's. Jimmy was a big request, even in Ill. farm country.
B3......mmmmmmmhhhhhmmmmmm... (homer-like)
Jimmy never used a bass player...he played all of his own bass lines with his feet...on the organ pedals; while at the same time played accompaniment on the lower keys AND a screaming lead on the upper manual. All at the same time.
Why don't you buy/download their CD's?
Just an amazing. Who can claim that kind of talent today?
Good thing I just checked in and saw this!
My father knew this man. We lived in his hometown. Besides being a great musician, he was also a housepainter (or something like that). I remember being a little girl, and one day he came to do work at our house. (Actually, it was a converted house, and we lived in one apartment). We had an old stand-up piano, and he played it for us and even tapdanced or some kind of dance (too long ago to remember). He also had a son who was a well-respected jazz pianist, too, and I remember him talking about him.
I remember "Mr. Smith" did more talking than painting (or whatever it was my father hired him to do), but my folks didn't seem to care.
Thanx for sharing that nugget.
You are very fortunate to have known him.
He was wonderful. i discovered him as a college freshman. We stayed up all night listening to him in the dorms.
i love listening to jazz/blues because it shows some terrific musicianship
The sad part is, I had no idea how famous he was. Or maybe that was the good part. He was just one of the regular guys around town that my dad knew.
Other than that one day, I've never even listened to any of his music. :-0
Are you hip to Kenny Garrett and Mulgrew Miller? There's also a great trumpet player who plays great straight ahead jazz, but also incorporates hip-hop and other elements into this music. His name escapes me. I'll try to scare up his name.
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