Jazz Organist Jimmy Smith passes away at 79

Jimmy Smith was one of my favorite jazz musicians ever. He elevated the Hammond B, but more importantly, he did it with crazy style. You can Google him for all sorts of impressive details on his career. However, listen to me when I tell you he was just a cool cat. – The Incredible Jimmy Smith, The Cat, The Fantastic, and the list of his nicknames goes on and on.

I could kick myself in the ass for not checking him out at the Iridium last month. I really regret never seeing Jimmy play live. However, he left behind a massive legacy of recordings, most with Blue Note records, to keep any jazzophile happy for a long time to come.

One of the simple pleasures I had (have) are his album covers. Especially the Blue Note releases from the 1950s, these photos of Jimmy are just spectacular!

I got turned on to The Incredible Jimmy Smith back in college in 1992 through a roomate of mine whom I used to argue with all the time. About the only thing positive I got out of her was her father’s old jazz records, including Home Cookin’.

This inspired my radio show at the college radio station immensely. After this, I began to dig and dig, later discovering Jimmy McGriff, Kenny Burrell, and many more.

His music, his persona is just cool. R.I.P. Jimmy.

date Posted on Friday, 11 Feb 2005
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