Back at the Chicken Shack [RVG] [Remaster]

Performer: Jimmy Smith (Organ)
Artist: Stanley Turrentine; Kenny Burrell
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Jimmy Smith (organ); Stanley Turrentine (tenor saxophone); Kenny Burrell (guitar); Donald Bailey (drums). Producer: Alfred Lion. Reissue producer: Michael Cuscuna. Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on April 25, 1960. Includes liner notes by Ira Gitler. Japanese 24bit digitally remastered limited edition in an LP style slipcase. CD comes in Jpn LP Sleeve. Personnel: Jimmy Smith (organ); Jimmy Allen Smith (organ); Kenny Burrell (guitar); Stanley Turrentine (tenor saxophone); Donald Bailey (drums). Audio Remasterer: Rudy Van Gelder. Liner Note Authors: Ira Gitler; Bob Blumenthal. Recording information: Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (04/25/1960). Photographer: Francis Wolff. This disc, along with MIDNIGHT SPECIAL and HOME COOKIN', is one of the truly classic albums Smith recorded for Blue Note. Introducing Stanley Turrentine on tenor sax, whose warm, old-school playing blends perfectly with the oozing grooves of Smith's Hammond, BACK AT THE CHICKEN SHACK also features regular sidemen Kenny Burrell on guitar and beatkeeper Donald Bailey. Smith's innovative concoction of soul, jazz and blues does not disappoint: from the down- home vibe of the title track, through the infectious, loping theme of Turrentine's composition "Minor Chant, to the 32-bar blues that frames spectacular solos in "Messie Bessie." Smith's ambidextrous magic dazzles as always, and the spotlight shines with particular brightness on Turrentine, who establishes himself as a serious talent on this session. There's also a version of "Sunny Side Of The Street," not included on the original LP. This is classic Smith with all the requisite flair and cool. It's a keeper. Back at the Chicken Shack is one of organist Jimmy Smith's classic Blue Note sessions, and the first to draw attention to tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine. Recorded in 1960 with Kenny Burrell on guitar, Donald Bailey on drums, and Turrentine, the group reaches the peak of funky soul-jazz that all other challengers of the genre would have to live up to. Included on this uptempo session is a reworking of "When I Grow Too Old to Dream" (a feature for Turrentine), Turrentine's "Minor Chant," two Smith compositions, "Messy Bessie" as well as the set's notable title cut, and the CD-only bonus track, "On the Sunny Side of the Street." Smith's Midnight Special album was recorded at these same sessions, and is also exceptional. [An edition remastered by Rudy Van Gelder was issued in 2007.] ~ Al Campbell

Q (Magazine) (p.133) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Smith's funky Hammond organ still sounds killer, his ecstatic fusion of R&B and jazz with bluesy gospel a whip-smart invention."

Though he was a late bloomer (he didn't start playing organ until age 28), Jimmy Smith is the single most influential figure in the history of jazz organ. He was the pioneering force in making the organ a lead instrument. And while he had bebop chops aplenty, his blues/R&B influences and preference for space over clutter also made him an icon of the subsequent acid jazz movement. Though his heyday was in the 1960s, the larger-than-life organist blazed ahead for decades afterward, until his death in February 2005.

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