Jimmy Smith – Organ Grinder Swing

Three players, a complete musical world

Jimmy Smith has just two partners on Organ Grinder Swing: Kenny Burrell on guitar and Grady Tate on drums. The Hammond B-3 takes several roles at once, carrying melodies, supplying chords and providing the low lines. There is no separate bassist. The relationship between these three players becomes the central attraction of the record.

Produced by Creed Taylor, the album was recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's Englewood Cliffs studio in June 1965. After Verve projects involving larger ensembles, Smith returned to the organ trio. This setting offers room for extended improvisation while remaining agile enough to deliver a short standard with economy. The first side places both possibilities next to each other.

A compact opening, then room to develop

“The Organ Grinder's Swing” introduces the album in a little over two minutes. The 1930s standard supplies a concise opening theme before “Oh No Babe” takes more than nine minutes to develop. That change of scale matters to the programme. The musicians can state an idea briefly or spend time exploring what it offers over a longer performance.

“Blues For J”, like “Oh No Babe”, is a Smith composition. Listen for Burrell's movement between accompaniment and an independent melodic voice. His guitar can support the organ's harmonies, then answer with a line of its own. Tate keeps the exchange moving. With only three instruments involved, it is possible to follow one player's contribution while remaining aware of its relationship to the others.

An old melody in a new setting

The second side opens with “Greensleeves”. The traditional English tune becomes the starting point for a performance approaching nine minutes. Familiarity with the melody offers a useful anchor: follow the places where its outline remains apparent and the moments when the players move further away from it. Recognition provides a route into the improvisation.

“I'll Close My Eyes” and “Satin Doll” complete the programme with further standards. The six selections have different lengths and different functions within the album. Together they offer a way into Smith's approach to form. Theme, accompaniment and solo keep changing their relationship from piece to piece, while the same three instruments give the record its continuity. The interest lies as much in those changes of scale as in any single tune.

This edition

The Verve Acoustic Sounds Series edition, AVER 98904, is a 180-gram stereo LP playing at 33⅓ RPM. Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab mastered it from the original analog tapes. The record is pressed at Quality Record Pressings and presented in a Stoughton tip-on gatefold jacket. The album features Jimmy Smith, Kenny Burrell and Grady Tate in the classic organ, guitar and drums configuration.

More by Jimmy Smith: Root Down · Bashin’: The Unpredictable Jimmy Smith

Series: Verve – all 34 records: voices, organ and bossa nova

Musicians

Documented selection of participating musicians. Personnel may vary by track; this list does not claim to be complete.

These are album credits. Participation on individual tracks is not asserted.