– Jimmy Smith Trio – Live in Paris – Salle Pleyel – December 1, 1969 – RFI-FIP –
The Legendary Jimmy Smith this week. From a concert at the Salle Pleyel in Paris, and recorded on December 1, 1969, The Jimmy Smith Trio featuring Charlie Crosby and drums and Eddie McFadden on guitar.
Smith signed to the Verve label in 1962. His first album, Bashin’, sold well and for the first time Smith worked with a big band, led by Oliver Nelson. Further big band collaborations followed with composer/arranger Lalo Schifrin for The Cat and guitarist Wes Montgomery, with whom he recorded two albums: The Dynamic Duo and Further Adventures of Jimmy and Wes. Other albums from this period include Blue Bash! and Organ Grinder Swing with Kenny Burrell, The Boss with George Benson, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Got My Mojo Working, and Hoochie Coochie Man.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Smith almost always performed live, in a trio, consisting of organ, guitar and drums. The Jimmy Smith Trio performed “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” and “The Sermon” in the film Get Yourself a College Girl (1964).
In the 1970s, Smith opened his own supper club in the North Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, at 12910 Victory Boulevard and played there regularly with Kenny Dixon on drums, Herman Riley and John F. Phillips on saxophone; also included in the band was harmonica/flute player Stanley Behrens. The 1972 album Root Down, considered a seminal influence on later generations of funk and hip-hop musicians, was recorded live at the club, albeit with a different group of backing musicians.
A feast for fans of the Hammond and a memorable concert for fans of Jimmy Smith. If you aren’t either, check it out anyway and immerse yourself is some gorgeous music making by one of the truly great Jazz Organists in a historic concert, just a shade under 90 minutes.
An excellent soundtrack for a Sunday in September.
