‘After Hours’, by Jimmy Smith

I wrote earlier about the great Larry Young hammering away on his Hammond B3 organ, but it was ‘The Incredible’ Jimmy Smith, born in 1925 or 1928 (!, sources are contradictory) and died in 2005, who’s performances immensely popularized this instrument.

After playing piano during his childhood, James Oscar Smith switched to organ in 1953 after hearing Wild Bill Davis. He purchased his first Hammond organ, rented a warehouse to practice in and emerged after little more than a year with an exciting new sound which was to completely revolutionize the way in which the instrument could be played.

The B3 and companion Leslie speaker produce a distinctive sound, including percussive ‘clicks’ with each key stroke. Smith’s style on fast tempo pieces combined bluesy licks with bebop-based single note runs. For ballads, he played walking bass lines on the bass pedals. For uptempo tunes, he would play the bass line on the lower manual and use the pedals for emphasis on the attack of certain notes, which helped to emulate the attack and sound of a string bass.

Alfred Lion (the co-founder of Blue Note Records) heard him play in a Philadelphia club and immediately signed him. Jimmy recorded 40 (!) session for Blue Note in just 8 years, including the 1957 album ‘Groovin’ At Small’s Paradise’.

This album is recorded live at the New York club ‘Small’s Paradise’ between November 14th and November 18th, 1957, and contains today’s song, ‘After Hours’: a low down blues in which Smith really displays what would become his trademarks: lightning right hand runs, as well as his patented trilling.

Jimmy Smith - Organ
Eddie McFadden - Guitar
Donald Bailey - Drums