Jimmy Smith - Stranger in Paradise - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

One of the most amazing musicians to sit behind an electric organ in the history of Jazz, Jimmy Smith is internationally recognized as an organist of immense stature. Like such innovators before him as Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker, he is considered the fountainhead from which all Jazz organ tributaries flow. Presented here are the historic first recordings of the organ genius leading his own combo, recorded between 1953 and early 1955. At this point in time Jimmy Smith was a full-fledged member of the Sonotones, led by vocalist Don Gardner who was something of a fixture around the local Philly music scene. Gardner was a singing drummer that supported Smith's organ-bass as the metronomic foundation, with saxophonist Al Cass rounding out the trio. All selections newly remastered.

Bibio's music may be more familiar to you than you realize. Not necessarily because you've heard it before, but because even on first listen it triggers brilliantly hazy moments of deja vu - that movie you saw on TV 20 years ago, that holiday you took with your parents, the memory of which you now strangely cherish, the song that was number one at the time, that old, hand-cranked music box you found in the attic, that old bossa nova vinyl, those sun-kissed moments of your formative years which now exist only in the recesses of your subconscious, blurry but as vividly colored as opal fruits.

The Fantastic Jimmy Smith is a collection of tunes that are believed to be the very first recordings of the great jazz organist Jimmy Smith as a leader fronting his own band, featuring the singing drummer Don Gardner. The recordings portray a young Jimmy Smith whose style is still in development and shows the direct influence of the great Wild Bill Davis. The album should be a real eye opener for those who are only familiar with Smith’s early work for the Blue Note tag. All selections have been newly remastered.