Search - Johnny Hammond Smith :: Black Coffee

An Unforgettable Listen ! ! !

Eddie Landsberg | Tokyo, Japan | 12/12/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sadly Johnny passed fairly recently. His last appearence was captured on Charles Earlands JAZZ ORGAN SUMMIT album. This is him Live and wailing back in the day - - Johnny Hammond Smith was one of those players who COULD grind and play with funk and grits, but he could also play haunting ballads, and make that brown box (the Hammond B-3) wail. (Lonnie Smith is especially like that today, though most people know him for his funk classics.) - - As for Johnny Hammond Smith, there have been few players so in touch with the Hammond. His treatment of I REMEMBER CLIFFORD is a favorite of mine. When you listen to this album, its really easy to get LOST in the music. You know what I mean about hearing good Jazz and getting LOST dont you ? He plays the Hammond like a Hammond should sound... yet his lines are deep. Unlike some popular players, hes in no rush to get anywhere and he pulls you into his world, yet despite the depth of his playing, he does qualify as a GROOVE master. Like Freddie Roach, he has that classic Hammond organ combo sound, but has a sound divergent from Jimmy Smith, though if you like this album, Im sure youll appreciate LIVE AT SMALLs. -- You might want to listen to a bit of Shirley Scott or Hank Marr after this. Yeah, get this, then go for some FREDDIE ROACH CDs !"