Jimmy Smith (musician)
Jimmy Smith | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | James Oscar Smith |
Born | Norristown, Pennsylvania, U.S. | December 8, 1928
Died | February 8, 2005 Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S. | (aged 76)
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Hammond organ |
Discography | Jimmy Smith discography |
Years active | 1948–2005 |
Labels |
James Oscar Smith (December 8, 1928[1] – February 8, 2005[2]) was an American jazz musician who helped popularize the Hammond B-3 organ, creating a link between jazz and 1960s soul music.
In 2005, Smith was awarded the NEA Jazz Masters Award from the National Endowment for the Arts, the highest honor that America bestows upon jazz musicians.[3]
Early years
James Oscar Smith was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania.[4] He joined his father doing a song-and-dance routine in clubs at the age of six. He began teaching himself to play the piano. When he was nine, Smith won a Philadelphia radio talent contest as a boogie-woogie pianist.[5] After a period in the U.S. Navy, he began furthering his musical education in 1948, with a year at Royal Hamilton College of Music, then the Leo Ornstein School of Music in Philadelphia in 1949. He began exploring the Hammond organ in 1951. From 1951 to 1954, he played piano, then organ in Philly R&B bands like Don Gardner and the Sonotones. He switched to organ permanently in 1954 after hearing Wild Bill Davis.[5][6][7]
Career
He purchased his first Hammond organ, rented a warehouse to practice in and emerged after little more than a year. Upon hearing him playing in a Philadelphia club,
Smith signed to the
During the 1950s and 1960s, Smith almost always performed live, in a trio, consisting of organ, guitar and drums.[8] 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
Later career
Holle Thee Maxwell, then known as Holly Maxwell, was Smith's vocalist for two years in the late 1970s. During a South African tour, they recorded the album Jimmy Smith Plays for the People in 1978.[9]
Smith had a career revival in the 1980s and 1990s, again recording for Blue Note and Verve, and for Elektra and Milestone.[4] He also recorded with Quincy Jones, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson (he can be heard on the title track of the Bad album), Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Joey DeFrancesco. His last album, Dot Com Blues (Blue Thumb/Verve, 2000), was recorded with B. B. King, Dr. John, and Etta James.
Smith and his wife moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, in 2004. She died of cancer a few months later. Smith recorded Legacy with Joey DeFrancesco, and the two prepared to go on tour.[10] However, before the tour began, Smith died on February 8, 2005, at his Scottsdale home, where he was found by his manager, Robert Clayton. He died in his sleep of natural causes.[11]
Musical style
While the electric organ had been used in jazz by
Smith influenced a constellation of
Discography
References
- ^ Holley, Joe (February 11, 2005). "Jazz Musician Jimmy Smith, Master Organist, Dies at 76". The Washington Post.
- ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "Jimmy Smith | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
- ^ ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
- ^ a b John Fordham (June 2, 2010). "50 great moments in jazz: Jimmy Smith and the Hammond organ". Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved April 18, 2011.
- ISBN 0-7864-2097-9.
- ISBN 978-0-19-532000-8.
- ^ "Obituary: Jimmy Smith". The Guardian. February 11, 2005. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
- ^ "Jimmy Smith Plays for the People: Rare South African - only LP with program". Collectorsfrenzy.com. February 19, 2012. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
- ^ "Jimmy Smith Biography". Encyclopedia of World Biography. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
- ^ John Murph (February 9, 2005). "Jazz pioneer Jimmy Smith dies". NBC News. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
- ^ Emerson, Keith (October 30, 2010). "Rick Wakeman & Keith Emerson Talk 10-30-2010". YouTube. Archived from the original on November 18, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
- ^ Ollie Bivens (June 21, 2005). "Joey DeFrancesco with Jimmy Smith: Legacy (2005)". All About Jazz. Retrieved April 23, 2012.