Jimmy Smith – The Sermon! (1959/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 40:08 minutes | 1,70 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Blue Note Records

The Sermon is one of Jimmy Smith’s classics which revolutionized the organ and popularized the instrument in a jazz context. Smith turns the organ into almost an ensemble itself. He plays walking bass lines and chordal accompaniment with his left hand, solos with his right hand. Smith fuses R&B, blues and gospel influences with bebop references and devices into a jubilant, attractive sound that many others immediately absorbed before following in his footsteps. These sessions, recorded in 1957 and 1958 with two different all-star bands, include trumpeter Lee Morgan, alto saxophonists George Coleman and Lou Donaldson, guitarists Kenny Burrell and Eddie McFadden and drummer Art Blakey.
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Jimmy Smith – The Sermon (1959/2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 40:10 minutes | 372 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Blue Note Records

The Sermon! is an album by jazz organist Jimmy Smith. It was produced by the Blue Note record label, and was Smith’s fifteenth album in three years. AllMusic’s Lindsay Planer described the album as “a prime example of Smith and company’s myriad of talents.”
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Jimmy Smith – The Fantastic Jimmy Smith! (1969/2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 46:31 minutes | 660 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © RevOla

James Oscar Smith (December 8, 1925 or 1928 – February 8, 2005) was an American jazz musician whose albums often appeared on Billboard magazine charts. He 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.
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Jimmy Smith – The Complete Verve Singles (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 02:36:45 minutes | 2,98 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Verve Reissues

Jimmy Smith wasn’t the first organ player in jazz, but no one had a greater influence with the instrument than he did; Smith coaxed a rich, grooving tone from the Hammond B-3, and his sound and style made him a top instrumentalist in the 1950s and ’60s, while a number of rock and R&B keyboardists would learn valuable lessons from Smith’s example.
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Jimmy Smith – The Cat (1964/2012)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 32:49 minutes | 733 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Verve

In his years with Verve, Jimmy Smith and his jaunty jazz organ made four appearances on Billboard’s hit-singles charts with his recordings of contemporary movie themes. This album, arranged by Lalo Schifrin, features selections from two film scores (including “The Cat,” for which composer Schifrin won a Grammy), some big-band style orchestrations, and plenty of blues. In 1964 this release defied the boundaries of idiom, appealing to a huge audience of jazz, r&b, and pop fans. Screaming film noir horns frame Smith’s jaw-dropping organ runs that practically sweat emotion.
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Jimmy Smith – Root Down – Live ! (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 41:50 minutes | 1,66 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Verve

„Root Down“ is a 1972 live jazz album by Jimmy Smith, released on the Verve label. It was recorded in Los Angeles on February 8, 1972. It includes the song ‘Root Down (And Get It)’ which was sampled by the Beastie Boys for their song ‘Root Down.’ Toward the end of his stint with Blue Note, Jimmy Smith’s albums became predictable. Moving to Verve in the mid-’60s helped matters considerably, since he started playing with new musicians (most notably nice duets with Wes Montgomery) and new settings, but he never really got loose, as he did on select early Blue Note sessions. Part of the problem was that Smith’s soul-jazz was organic and laid-back, relaxed and funky instead of down and dirty. For latter-day listeners, aware of his reputation as the godfather of modern soul-jazz organ (and certainly aware of the Beastie Boys’ name drop), that may mean that Smith’s actual albums all seem a bit tame and restrained, classy, not funky. That’s true of the bulk of Smith’s catalog, with the notable exception of Root Down. Not coincidentally, the title track is the song the Beasties sampled on their 1994 song of the same name, since this is one of the only sessions that Smith cut where his playing his raw, vital, and earthy. Recorded live in Los Angeles in February 1972, the album captures a performance Smith gave with a relatively young supporting band who were clearly influenced by modern funk and rock. They push Smith to playing low-down grooves that truly cook: ‘Sagg Shootin’ His Arrow’ and ‘Root Down (And Get It)’ are among the hottest tracks he ever cut, especially in the restored full-length versions showcased on the 2000 Verve By Request reissue. There are times where the pace slows, but the tension never sags, and the result is one of the finest, most exciting records in Smith’s catalog. If you think you know everything about Jimmy Smith, this is the album for you.
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Jimmy Smith – Midnight Special (1961/2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 36:34 minutes | 1,25 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Blue Note Records

Jimmy Smith’s April 25, 1960 session with the perfect cast of Stanley Turrentine, Kenny Burrell and Donald Bailey produced this classic album that is the pinnacle of the organ-tenor style. A perfect selection of material played at the perfect tempo by great musicians who connect on the deepest, most soulful level.
The name Jimmy Smith is practically synonymous with jazz organ, and albums such as Midnight Special are part of the reason. Of course, there is Smith’s legendary gospel- and blues-rooted style and brilliant bebop chops, present on SPECIAL in ample doses. Also, one could not ask for a better band: Donald Bailey, one of Smith’s regular drummers; Kenny Burrell on guitar; and Stanley Turrentine on tenor sax. As great as Smith is, it’s Turrentine’s lusciously rich tenor tone and big bluesy honks that makes Midnight Special such a true joy. (Burrell’s burr, elegant guitar isn’t too shabby either.) In the end, this album is simply a party waiting to happen, for fans of Smith and soul-jazz alike.
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Jimmy Smith – Jimmy Smith Plays Fats Waller (1962/2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 34:58 minutes | 662 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © RevOla

Plays Fats Waller is an album by American jazz organist Jimmy Smith featuring performances of tunes associated with Fats Waller recorded in 1962 and released on the Blue Note label.
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