Christmas '64 [2005]

Performer: Jimmy Smith (Organ)
Producer: Creed Taylor
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Jimmy Smith (organ); Kenny Burrell, Quentin Warren (guitar); Margaret Ross (harp); Ernie Royal (trumpet); Joe Newman (flugelhorn); Jim Buffington (French horn); Jimmy Cleveland (trombone); Harvey Phillips (tuba); Art Davis (double bass); Grady Tate, Billy Hart (drums); George Devens (percussion). The master of the Hammond B-3 tickles the keys in full holiday mode on CHRISTMAS '64. While not nearly as gritty as BACK AT THE CHICKEN SHACK or THE SERMON, this seasonal platter finds Jimmy Smith lending his swirling, steamy organ sound to renditions of, among other favorites, "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town." Compared to most Christmas albums, this is plenty groovy, with lots of Smith's trademark dexterity and bop runs on offer.

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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