Author: ekkarn

Today in Music – The Safari wishes a Happy 30th Birthday to Polish jazz pianist – Pawel Kaczmarczyk!

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Today Polish jazz pianist, Pawel Kaczmarczyk celebrates his 30 birthday. Pawel was born in Krakow of Feb 8, 1984. By the time he was in high school Pawel and his band, began to participate in jazz festivals, winning first prizes and awards and he hasn’t stopped since!

In 2001 he founded the KBD trio with Michael Barański and Paul Dobrowolski. Were inspired music in the style of Bill Evans , Herbie Hancock andWayne Shorter . A year later, the trio took first place at the 26th International Competition for Young and Debuting Jazz “Jazz Juniors”, and he was recognized as the best instrumentalist of the competition. Trio won the Grand Prix at the 40th Wroclaw Jazz Festival Jazz on the Oder in the same year. 

Pawel has become one of the most renowned pianists of the younger generation od European jazz artists.and is known for  his virtuosity, creativity and extremely mature technique. Here’s a partial list of the awards that he has garnered…

  • 2002 – 1st place at the 26th “Jazz Juniors” International Competition for Young and Debuting Jazz Groups (with Kaczmarczyk/Jaros/Dobrowolski Trio)
  • 2002 –  the title of Best Instrumentalist at Poland’s Jazz Juniors competition
  • 2004 – Grand Prix at the 40th “Jazz on the Oder” Jazz Festival in Wroclaw (with KBD Trio)
  • 2004 – several medals at the “Kultursalen Horbiger” competition in Vienna (with Kaczmarczyk/Nowicki/Traczyk/Dobrowolski Quartet)
  • 2004 – “Key to a Career” prize at the “Pomeranian Jazz Autumn” festival
  • 2006 – 1st place at the “JUNIOR JAZZ 2006” International Competition for Jazz Groups in Usti nad Labem (Czech Republic)
  • Album of The Year (2007) in Jazz Forum Magazine’s “Jazz Top” readers’ poll (for “Audiofeeling”)
  • Fryderyk (Nomination) (2008) (for “The Songs From A New Place” by Rafal Sarnecki)
  • Pianist of The Year (2009) in Jazz Forum Magazine’s “Jazz Top” readers’ poll
  • Album of The Year (2009) in Jazz Forum Magazine’s “Jazz Top” readers’ poll (for “Complexity in Simplicity”)
  • “Melomani” Jazz Society’s Jazz Oscars Grand Prix in the Artist of The Year 2009 category
  • “Melomani” Jazz Society’s Jazz Oscars Grand Prix in the Album of The Year 2009 category (for “Complexity in Simplicity”)
  • Fryderyk (Nomination) – the Jazz Musician of the Year 2009

 

I am still working my way through the 2009 release from Pawel Kaczmarczyk Audiofeeling Band Simplicity in Complexity and it is really good!! The Chicago Tribune writes….

To hear Kaczmarczyk dig deeply into the keys is to understand what full-bodied, wholly committed jazz pianism is all about

Here’s the playing “Get More Chicks” at the Garana Jazz Festival So Happy Birthday, Pawel!! Check out his music at….

Pawel’s Website: http://www.pawelkaczmarczyk.com/en#/news/index
Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/dilberg1?feature=watch
Wikipedia: http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paweł_Kaczmarczyk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Paweł-Kaczmarczyk-Audiofeeling-Band/10150151196775217

 

Book 3 of 2014 – The Road Out: A Teacher’s Odyssey in Poor America!

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The Road OutYears ago  I was moved by Death at an Early Age Jonathan Kozol’s award-winning book chronicling his first year of teaching, and the plight of poor children in the Boston school system. Forty plus years later, I am moved again this time by Deborah Hick’s book The Road Out (Book 3 of 2014) The Road Out chronicles Hicks attempt to give several at risk girls in the Cincinnati school system a road out, through a top quality literature education. For several years Hicks conducts a special literature class for these girls in trying to give them something that they didn’t have hope and dreams, Dreams about where they could  go and what they could be, by using the power of the written word. Seven girls Blair, Alicia, Adriana, Jessica, Elizabeth, Mariah,and Shannon. Seven girls growing up on the wrong side of the tracks in Cincinnati.Children whose parents and grandparents came from the hills of Appalachia to the industrial centers of Ohio, to chase the American dream only to have that dream crushed.They watched their jobs be shipped out of the country, have the factories close, and their communities turned into ghettos with rampant unemployment, and drug use particularly Oxycontin…

As I read this book, I said damn, children in America should not have to live like this. They shouldn’t have to watch good mothers descend into the black hole created by prescription drug use, and then join the women standing on the street with other who sell their bodies for the drug they crave. Or worse yet, get pulled out of class because their mother was found dead of a drug overdose. And then have to face a school system that does little except teach to the test. I asked myself, knowing the answer, who stole the American Dream? W/hat did we do to get to this point throughout our great land that once was a beacon of hope throughout the world!! This thought has led me to Hedrick Smith’s book appropriately titled Who Stole the American Dream!!

But Hicks stepped into this world determined to give these girls something that she felt she never had growing up a first-rate education and a chance to live their dreams. Through literature she had these young girls, who struggle in their regular classrooms, examining their lives, finding themselves in the pages of many books, and then writing about their lives and dreams. They even produced their own magazine! She had them thinking and dreaming about attending college and creating a better life for themselves. As I read the book I started to think about my reading and education. I tend to read only for the story and rarely think about what deeper message the book may contain. The mysteries and many of the thrillers that I read have a single character be it Dave Robicheaux, Cork O’Connor, Mitch Rapp, or earlier in my reading days a Dirk Pitt battling evil. Is that because I am an only child???  Throughout my lifetime, I have shied away from literature especially classic lit!  The result is, I don’t think I’ve ever analyzed literature the way that Hicks had these girls analyzing the books they were reading, looking for connections to their lives in the story, identifying with the heroine. So I was off to the library, first I picked up How to Read Literature Like a Professor. I figured any help I can get on deeper reading is a plus!! Then I picked up Plainsong by Kent Haruf. I had already put Let the Great World Spin on my Kindle. Neither of these books are my typical read, but maybe they can provide some insight into the world around me!!

But back to Hicks and the girls. One of the books that she had the girls read and analyze was Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison. Several of the girls immediately identified with the book just based on the title!

“I’m  a bastard!” said Alicia.

“I’m a bastard” echoed Mariah “I’m  bastard. “I’m proud to f…in’ say it, I’m a bastard”

You know my only cousin that is not a bastard,” said Alicia, “Is the baby that Margie is carrying right no, ’cause her and Xavier are married. That’s my only cousin that’s not a bastard.”

Remember these girls are pre-teens and early teens! Anyway, here’s what Allison writes about the book…

“The Road Out is a terrible wonderful read – terrible for the hard painful lives that it shows so closely and wonderful for the sense of hope and purpose that comes through so powerfully”

While Carol Stack the author of All Our Kin and Call to Home writes:

“A wrenching extraordinary tale. The Road Out is not a story of victims but a story of passion and literacy. With authority and vulnerability, Hicks uncovers unexpected insights and offers new ways to bring a love of reading along with hope into the far corners of urban life on the margins”

Both of those quotes sum up my feelings about the book better than I can! So check it Out! In closing the last thing it did was piss me off even more at the politicians who cut taxes for the rich and cut needed services for the poor and children like these girls who are living on the edge through no fault of their own!!

Buddy Montgomery Wes’ baby brother -born January 30, 1930

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Buddy Montgomery – Primary Instrument – Vibraphone

 

On January 30. 1930, Charles “Buddy” Montgomery, the youngest of the Montgomery Brothers was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. Buddy was nine years younger than Monk, the oldest of the three musical brothers and seven years younger than Wes, the most famous of th brothers. Buddy played both piano and vibes, but is primarily known for playing vibes. His career started in 1948 and in 1949 he played with Big Joe Turner followed by a stint with Slide Hampton. In 1957, after serving several  years in the Army, he joined older brother Monk, Richie Crabtree (piano) and Benny Barth (drums) in the Mastersounds over the next several years they produced ten recordings.

Buddy Montgomery and brothers-grooveyardAfter they disbanded, He and Monk joined brother Wes and recorded as the Montgomery Brothers.. Their album Groove Yard is in my collection. While I’ve listened to Wes’ music since the late 60, I didn’t discover this album until several years ago, it was my first introduction to Buddy’s piano the first time I heard hin on vibes was on the album The Montgomery Brothers and 5 Others!

the montgomery brothers and five others

Buddy Montgomery started recording as a leader in the late 50’s, spent a short period with Miles Davis in 1960. He was touring with Wes in 1968, when Wes passed away. In 1969 he moved to Milwaukee and taught jazz in the area.In the early 80s he moved to Oakland. During the 90s he released more solo albums in addition to playing with the Riverside Reunion Band, Charlie Rouse, David Fathead Newman and Bobby Hutcherson

Buddy passed away on May 14, 2009, the last of the brothers to pass away. Monk had died in 1982 after losing a battle with cancer and Wes of a heart attack in 1968.

Here’s a great video about Buddy Montgomery featuring his wife, followed by some music from Buddy! Happy Birthday, Buddy! Hope you and your brothers have a great day wherever you are!!

Here’s “Lois Ann” from The Montgomery Brothers and 5 Others

The Safari – meets Philadelphian, Chicagoan, New Yorker, pianist, organist Ben Paterson!!

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So on Sunday while I was exploring the music and legacy of Lester Young, I also listened to the music of a new musician, Ben Paterson. His Trio’s new album Essential Elements is currently,number 4 on the Roots Music Reports Jazz Chart. On Sunday I put the album on while I was reading and I really didn’t notice the album as the first two songs went by, but then the songs and Paterson’s piano playing got stronger and stronger and by the end of the album I was a fan! I listened to the album again tonight and was more impressed the second time around! Now I’m listening to his second release Blues for Oscar, which is pretty good, too. Now, I only have to go and listen to his first album Breathing Spaces! From his biography at his website:

Originally from Philadelphia, Ben spent his younger years studying both classical and jazz music before moving to the great city of Chicago. There he spent years performing and working with the best musicians in town, absorbing the unique blend of Jazz and Blues that can only be found in the Windy City. Now, moving to New York, Ben is poised to bring his unique talents and style to a wider audience, combining hard-swinging grooves and melodic improvisation with an impeccable touch.Full biography

On Essential Elements Paterson covers songs from Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Keith Jarrett and Ray Charles and others, in addition to five original compositions. As I listen I think I like some of the originals the best, particularly “Around the Block”. Joining Paterson on the album are two Paterson’s favorite Chicago-based musicians: Josh Ramos on bass, and Jon Deitemyer on drums.

Here’s what some others are saying about Ben Patersn’s music…..

“On first listen, you can hear why so many people on the Chicago jazz scene are singing Paterson’s praises. His playing is always where it needs to be: one minute sensitive and relaxed, at another moment, explosive and muscular, and always musical.”
–Paul Abella, Chicago Jazz Magazine

“An inspired repertoire… some creative arrangements and reworkings… the first-rate musicianship and the joyful spirit are other reasons why Breathing Space is heartily recommended to fans of piano trios.”
–Scott Yanow, All Music Guide (4 out of 5 stars)

“…a monster on the Hammond B3.”
–Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader

I particularly like that last quote!  From his website…

….Ben’s own organ group blends hard swinging jazz chops with blues and funk influences, creating a sound that is hard not to like, and impossible to ignore.  This group recently performed at the 2013 Chicago Jazz Fest, receiving a standing ovation,

….Also keep an eye out for his debut Organ record scheduled for release in Summer of 2014.

I think I will keep an eye out for that album….. But for now let’s go “into the night”with  “On the Move”  from Ben’s album Blues for Oscar……

The Safari’s Eclectic Music Day – A Little Folk, New Age and Prog from three great guitarists!

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More New EverythinhCrossposted from Me.Myself, Music and Mysteries

So today was an eclectic music day. I had to return to Lambertville today, so I loaded music on the iPhone from two different genres. First some folk music from a longtime favorite, Brooks Williams,  his latest release, More New Everything which is an EP. Then some New Age from guitarist Alex DeGrassi. I listened to those two albums on the way to the site. Then on the  way back, I listened to music from a third genre Prog Rock from the album Ravens and Lullabies from Gordon Giltrap and Oliver Wakeman. As I was listening on the way back, I thought about what tied all three of these albums from different genres together. The answer was that three of the four artist are exceptionally fine acoustic guitar players!!

I have enjoyed the music of Brooks Williams since his 1999 release Hundred Year Shadow. The first time I heard the album I thought “This is one damn good guitarist!! Brooks’ next release in 2000 was Little Lion his first all instrumental album and to this day it is one of my favorite guitar albums!!  Since those two albums, I’ve liked some of his releases better than others, so I have not picked up every album. But listening to More New Everything today I was hearing the Brooks Williams that I first enjoyed 13 years ago!! Some great songs and some great guitar!! Now i have to go back and listen to New Everything, since the tracks on More New Everything are left over from the New Everything session!! Because if these songs were left out, how good must New Everything be!!! I also need to go back and listen to some of the albums that I haven’t listened to over the years!!

As You Drift AwayThe second album that I turned on was Alex deGrassi’s  2008 release As You Drift Away:Lullabies On Guitar. Hum I didn’t see the complete title of this very good album, that was doing a good job of relaxing me this morning on the last leg of my trip! From AllMusic

….AS YOU DRIFT AWAY is a collection of both classic and original lullaby songs, ideal for late-night unwinding or early-moring chilling-out in addition to lulling young children to dreamland. A fine, discerning addition to an already extensive body of work, AS YOU DRIFT AWAY is one of those rare recordings that transcends age and genre. doing a good job of putting me to sleep on the last leg of my trip this morning.From AllMusic:. Read More

 

Ravens & LulllabiesThe last album actually connects to the second album because of the title and the acoustic guitar of Gordon Giltrap. . The album is Ravens & Lullabies a collaborative album from Giltrap and Oliver Wakeman. The album is probably one-half instrumental and the other half vocals and also one-half Gitrap and the other Wakeman. in turn Wakeman alternates between some beautiful piano work and his steady organ work. The only things that I really didn’t like were a few of the vocals and some of the lyrics. The lyrics seemed a little simplistic at times, at least to me. The other musicians that join Giltrap and Wakeman on the album include: Paul Manzi of Oliver Wakeman Band and Arena on lead vocals, Johanne James of Threshold plays the drums, and Steve Amadeo the bass. Benoit David of Mystery and Yes contributes a guest vocal on “From The Turn Of A Card”.

This album has been on the iPhone for a while and this is really the first extended listen that I’ve given the album and I’ve come away impressed by both artists – Giltrap’s guitar work and Wakeman keyboards are both outstanding. Now if the lyrics were a little better??

All and all, it was a fine musical journey today Good music is good music, regardless of genre!! Here’s Gordon and Oliver performing “Ljw” from Ravens and Lullabies”

 

Book No 1 for 2014 – Cut to the Bone – Jefferson Bass

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cut to the boneSo I finally finished book No. 1 for 2014, Cut to the Bone by Jefferson Bass. Cut to the Bone is the 5th book in Body Farm series, which features the exploits  of forensic anthropologist Bill Btrockton. The character of Bill Brockton is based upon the life of the real life director of the Body Farm at the University of Tennessee, Dr. Bill Bass. Bill Bass is half of the writing team that creates these great novels. The other half of the writing duo is journalist, writer and documentary film maker Jon Jefferson.

While this is the 5th book in the series, it is actually a prequel to all the books. The story is set in 1992, when Bill Brockton, head of the Anthropology Department at Tennessee, was in the early stages of setting up the Body Farm at UT. In the story, Brockton and his assistant Tyler Wainwright, are called in to help police in determining, who the bones found at an old mining site belong to. Brockton and Tyler quickly decide that the bones belong to a young girl, who appears to have had a hard life. But when the police ask how long her body has been there, Brockton doesn’t have an answer for them. In fact the last time he work with this police department he only missed the age of the bones by a hundred years!! So Brockton decides that Tyler’s dissertation should revolve around using the life cycle of blowflies to determine the rate of decomposition of  the human body. Now while all this is happening in and around Knoxville. Bill is also called to help in the brutal murder of a prostitute. But when the method of cutting up the body matched a case that Brockton worked on a few years earlier and then more bodies start piling up that also match Brockton’s cases, it seems that Brockton and company are on the trail of a serial killer who may have his sights set on Brockton and his family!!

Like all the past novels, Cut to the Bone is a fast paced you don’t want to put it down read! The nice part of the book is that the reader are introduced to characters like Brockton’s wife Kathleen, his graduate assistant Tyler, and of course the infancy of the Body Farm! This novel really didn’t have as much of the forensic science in the story, as the other books in the series.  But the development of the character of the serial killer, Satterfield  was good and the tension built up over the last pages was another plus for the book. So all in all Cut to the Bone is a fine addition to the series, now I think I would still start with Carved in Bone, just to get to know Bill Brockton,  first  he’s a great character both in fiction and in reality!!

Ok so now I just went to the Jefferson Bass website and I see there is another prequel Jordan’s Stormy Banks a novella! I guess I have to go pick that up at Amazon…..it’s only 99 cents!! sounds good to me!!

 

This Day in Music – Jan 10, 1978 – Happy Birthday, Jazz Pianist Kekko Fornarelli!!

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So on this date in 1978….I was married for three years and was a year  away from the start of several turbulent years, and jazz pianist Kekko Fornarelli was born……from Wikipedia:

Kekko Fornarelli is a pianist and a composer. He was born in Bari, Italy in 1978. He began learning classical piano at the age of three, first through private tuition and later at the Conservatorio Piccinni in Bari.

Fornarelli’s interest in jazz music began at the age of 18. From there on, he has immersed himself in jazz, which has led him to travel worldwide.

He has recorded three albums, Circular Thought in 2005, A French Man in New York (2008), inspired by French pianist Michel Petrucciani in the three years he spent in France.
Room of mirrors was released in 2011 by Auand sound. Alison Bentley writes “I can’t stop listening to the CD: a fusion of Romantic classical music, modern jazz and 21st century dance rhythms, played with Italian brio from the heart.”[1]

and at All About Jazz I read

Kekko Fornarelli is one of the most widely appreciated young pianists internationally. His unique ways of balancing an endless research with universal usability, and his ability to draw the profanes up to that foreign thing called jazz makes him one of the most eclectic and pervasive artists in the current international music scene. His unique style is characterized by its attempt to create music to observe, more than just to listen to. A way to tell stories, emotions and situations……

Then I went to YouTube to check out Kekko’s music and watched and listened to the following……. 

After that I traveled to his website and saw that he is at work on his fourth album and like many artist he is fund-raising to pay for the album. You can visit his page here.

So after reading and listening,I’d like to wish Kekko a Happy Birthday and I am putting Room of Mirrors on the iPhone for some listening tonight. Why don’t you join me and then let me know what you think???

Evening Distractions lead to Oliver Wakeman and Steve Howe and some great jazz guitar!!

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So I came home tonight from being outside all day doing a percolation test in Howell Township, all ready to write about the albums that I listened to on the way to, and from the site, and then……


I was researching the album  Ravens & Lullabies from Gordon Giltrap and Oliver Wakeman. As part of the research,  I went to Oliver’s page on Spotify and found a great album The 3 Ages of Magick-  wait Oliver Wakeman and Steve Howe?? The light bulb goes off over the dim old man’s head…….and at AllMusic I read this about the album……

It seems this album has been tailored for fans of Yes and particularly of their colorful keyboardist, Rick Wakeman. The latter’s son, Oliver, is at the helm of this project, which shares thematic similarities with dad’s Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Granted, there is something unfair about comparing Oliver Wakeman’s music with his father’s, but who could do otherwise? Everything he knows about music he learned from his father. He plays the piano, the organ, even the mini-Moog like him, using the same kind of phrasing and conveying the same conception of romanticism. And the fact that he recruited guitarist Steve Howe to grace half of the tracks on The 3 Ages of Magick will make any Yes fan feel at home.

So here’s YouTube Video for “The Enchanter” keyboard’s by Oliver (son of Rick) Wakeman and guitar by Steve Howe…..

Then I glanced over my shoulder and spotted Wes Montgomery’s album Down Here on the Ground, which made me think about one of Wes’ other A&M releases Road Song, so I thought was that I’d go “into the night” with a video of the title track of the album “Road Song” What I found at YouTube was a super group of guitarist playing the song. The group consisted of: Mark Whitfield, Chuck Loeb, Pat Martino and Russell Malone. The video took up 11 plus minutes of my time, when I was eating dinner, but it was worth every minute of it!!! It reminded me of how much I liked Mark Whitfield and Russell Malone and sent me scurrying to find out more about Chuck Loeb and Pat Martino, whose names, but not their music I know!!

So here is the video,  you can go “into the night” with the great “Road Song”, while I check out the two guys in the middle, and think about which albums from the guys on the ends, I want to listen to tomorrow!! So maybe you’ll read about Ravens & Lullabies and Rubidium by Mashine later or maybe I’ll just fall asleep while reading Cut to the Bone by Jefferson Bass, who knows….not even The Shadow….

A Tap on the Window – Linwood Barclay

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A Tap on the Window - Linwood Barclay

 Several years ago, well to be a little more accurate back in 2007 I read Linwood Barclay’s first Zack Walker novel Bad Move  That book came to mind when I read the first line of Book 34 for 2013 Barclay’s latest thriller A Tap on the Window 

The Story

A middle-aged guy would have to be a total fool to pick up a teenage girl standing outside a bar with her thumb sticking out. Not that bright on her part, either, when you think about it But right now, we’re talking about my stupidity, not hers.

The narrator is Cal Weaver, a private investigator who lives in Griffon, New York. Weaver makes the decision to pick up the girl, who identifies herself only as Claire, only after she recognizes Weaver and says Cal’s son Scott was a friend of hers

. See Scott killed himself by jumping off of the roof of a furniture store in town, after taking a hit of X. The first thought going through Cal’s head is that Claire may be able to provide him some information that will help his quest, which is to discover who supplied the X to his son only two months earlier.

Soon Cal’s words ring true as he is drawn into a plan hatched by Claire and her best friend Hanna that leaves both girls missing and Cal’s life a mess!

Not that his life hadn’t been a mess before that. After Scott’s suicide Cal and his wife Donna’s marriage has been on the rocks as Cal can’t give up his quest to find out answers surrounding Scott’s death, and Donna deals with the loss by spending her time trying to draw the perfect portrait of Scott, Claire turns out to be Claire Sanders the mayor’s daughter.

The mayor is in a battle over the use of excessive force that seems to  be prevalent on the force.Oh by the way, Cal’s brother-in-law Augie, is the police chief!!

My Thoughts

Like all of Barclay’s books the pages turned fast on this one, as I tried along with Cal, to figure out first where Hanna and Claire were, who they were pulling their scam on, and what does any of this have to do with Scott’s death??

Overall, the plot of the book twisted and turned and the final resolution of the various interwoven storylines was not what I expected.

The book was a little darker than Barclay’s other books, and lacked some of the humor, that I thought was coming based on the first few lines of the book!

iWebsite
Orion Books
Amazon
Wikipdianks

Linwood Barclay

About Linwood Barclay

Linwood Barclay continues to be a prolific author, releasing new, critically acclaimed thrillers annually. Known for his high-octane plots and relatable characters, his recent work has solidified his status as a master of contemporary suspense.

Visit the Linwood Barclay Page

If you like standalone Mystery/Thrillers…….

Here are three Authors whose books might enjoy:

Charlie Donlea
Charlie Donlea
Michael Koryta/Scott Carson
Riley Sager
Riley Sager
  • Charlie Donlea — tightly plotted thrillers often built around cold cases, missing persons, and strong female leads, with twists that keep coming
  • Michael Koryta / Scott Carson — blends crime, suspense, and sometimes the supernatural, with a darker tone and strong atmosphere
  • Riley Sager — modern psychological thrillers with big twists, often centered on isolated settings and unreliable pasts

On this Date in Music – December 8, 1928 – Organist Jimmy Smith was born!!

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Jimmy Smith

 

On this date in 1928 the master of the Hammond B3, Jimmy Smith was born. I have been listening to Jimmy Smith’s music since he late 60s when I discovered Wes Montgomery and then Jimmy & Wes an album by the two masters that they released in 1966. I love to put on a Jimmy Smith album at work and well just let it flow!! So let’s have some morning music to start our Sunday and to honor Jimmy on his birthday. But first some background….. from AllMusic

Jimmy Smith wasn’t the first organ player in jazz, but no one had a greater influence with the instrument than he did;Smith coaxed a rich, grooving tone from the Hammond B-3, and his sound and style made him a top instrumentalist in the 1950s and ’60s, while a number of rock and R&B keyboardists would learn valuable lessons from Smith’s example.

 

James Oscar Smith was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania on December 8, 1928 (some sources cite his birth year as 1925). Smith’s father was a musician and entertainer, and young Jimmy joined his song-and-dance act when he was six years old. By the time he was 12, Smith was an accomplished stride piano player who won local talent contests, but when his father began having problems with his knee and gave up performing to work as a plasterer, Jimmy quit school after eighth grade and began working odd jobs to help support the family. At 15, Smith joined the Navy, and when he returned home, he attended music school on the GI Bill, studying at the Hamilton School of Music and the Ornstein School, both based in Philadelphia. Continue Reading for complete biography

and from Wikipedia:

While the electric organ had been used in jazz by Fats Waller, Count Basie, Wild Bill Davis and others, Smith’s virtuoso improvisationtechnique on the Hammond helped to popularize the electric organ as a jazz and blues instrument. The B3 and companion Leslie speaker produce a distinctive sound, including percussive “clicks” with each key stroke. Smith’s style on fast tempo pieces combined bluesy “licks” with bebop-based single note runs. For ballads, he played walking bass lines on the bass pedals. For uptempo tunes, he would play the bass line on the lower manual and use the pedals for emphasis on the attack of certain notes, which helped to emulate the attack and sound of a string bass.

 

Smith influenced a constellation of jazz organists, including Jimmy McGriff, Brother Jack McDuff, Richard “Groove” Holmes, Joey DeFrancesco and Larry Goldings, as well as rock keyboardists such as Jon Lord, Brian Auger and Keith Emerson. More recently, Smith influenced bands such as the Beastie Boys, who sampled the bassline from “Root Down (and Get It)” from Root Down—and saluted Smith in the lyrics—for their own hit “Root Down,” Medeski, Martin & Wood, and the Hayden-Eckert Ensemble. Often called the father ofacid jazz, Smith lived to see that movement come to reflect Smith’s organ style. In the 1990s, Smith went to Nashville, taking a break from his ongoing gigs at his Sacramento restaurant which he owned and, in Music City, Nashville, he produced, with the help of a webmaster, Dot Com Blues, his last Verve album. In 1999, Smith guested on two tracks of a live album, Incredible!, the hit from the 1960s, with his protégé, Joey DeFrancesco, a then 28-year-old organist. Smith and DeFrancesco’s collaborative album Legacy was released in 2005 shortly after Smith’s death. Read More

and now the sad part of the story…..

….. In 2004, Smith was honored as a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts; that same year, Smith relocated from Los Angeles to Scottsdale, Arizona. Several months after settling in Scottsdale, Smith’s wife succumbed to cancer, and while he continued to perform and record, Jimmy Smith was found dead in his home less than a year later, on February 8, 2005. His final album, Legacy, was released several months after his passing.

FourmostAs I look down Jimmy’s vast discography at AllMusic among my favorites is his 1991 release Fourmost, a reunion album with his 30 plus-year associates tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine and guitarist Kenny Burrell along with drummer Grady Tate.

So let’s say Happy Birthday and Thanks to Jimmy Smith with a 1993 performance of “Organ Grinders Swing” with  Jimmy Smith playing with mates; Kenny Burrell on guitar;  Grady Tate on drums and Herman Riley playing the part of Stanley Turrentine on tenor sax!