Prime Time

Performer: Jimmy Smith (Organ)
Artist: Rickey Woodard
Engineer: George Belle...
Producer: Eric Miller...
Distributor: Fantasy

Notes: Personnel: Jimmy Smith (organ); Barbara Morrison (vocals); Curtis Peagler (alto & tenor saxophones); Herman Riley, Rickey Woodard (tenor saxophone); Phil Upchurch, Terry Evans (guitar); Andy Simpkins (bass); Michael Baker, Frank Wilson (drums). Recorded at Group IV Recording, Hollywood, California on August 15 & 16, 1989. Includes liner notes by Kirk Silsbee. Personnel: Jimmy Smith (organ); Barbara Morrison (vocals); Phil Upchurch, Terry Evans (guitar); Curtis Peagler (alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Herman Riley, Rickey Woodard (tenor saxophone); Mike Baker , Frank Wilson , Michael Baker (drums). Audio Mixer: George Belle. Liner Note Author: Kirk Silsbee. Recording information: Group IV Recording, Hollywood, CA (08/15/1989/08/16/1989). Photographer: Phil Bray. Unknown Contributor Roles: Curtis Peagler; Mike Baker ; Herman Riley; Frank Wilson; Andy Simpkins; Phil Upchurch; Rickey Woodard; Terry Evans; Barbara Morrison. This high-energy release captures Smith in 1989 reuniting with some of his favorite session players in Los Angeles, where the artist lived for 20 years. PRIME TIME runs on fat horn embellishments, tight, soulful rhythmic support and of course, Smith's trademark Hammond ooze and spectacular improvisatory technique. Things kick off in a decidedly less subdued manner than many Smith releases, from the uptempo intensity of the opener "Here Come C.T." through a treatment of Ellington's "C Jam Blues," but falls into a familiar laid-back groove with "Simple Soul Song" and "Matter Of Fact." There are three different sax players on this disc, each lending their individual sound, and two guitarists, each carving out their own niche. Vocalist Barbara Morrison wails on "Farther On Up The Road," and the rhythm section kicks it out or cools it down as the tunes demand. With such variety and color to round out his jams, Smith sounds prime on PRIME TIME, defending the title of "world's greatest jazz organist" with ease.

Down Beat - 3 Stars - Good

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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