Prime Time is a wonderfully vibrant, greasy, and hard-grooving late-eighties studio album by the founding father of the modern jazz organ, Jimmy Smith, released in 1989 on Milestone Records. True to its name, the recording shows that Smith's legendary mastery over the Hammond B-3 organ remained completely undiminished, serving up an infectious blend of greasy soul jazz, driving hard bop shuffles, and down-home rhythm & blues. For this expansive session, the lineup features a rotating, powerhouse cast of soulful veterans, including the blistering horn work of saxophonists Curtis Peagler, Herman Riley, and Rickey Woodard, alongside the tasteful, funk-tinged fretwork of guitar master Phil Upchurch. The tracklist rolls seamlessly from burning instrumental workouts like C Jam Blues and the grooving opener Here Comes C.T. to a gritty, standout blues vocal delivery by Barbara Morrison on Farther On Up The Road. Driven by Smith's signature, thumping bass-pedal lines and fiery chord stabs, this late-career gem stands out as a high-caliber addition to his monumental discography.

Sum Serious Blues is a vibrant, hard-grooving studio album by the undisputed master of the Hammond B-3 organ, Jimmy Smith, released in 1993 on Milestone Records. Marking a triumphant return to form in the early nineties, the album captures Smith doing what he does best: delivering deep, soulful blues, finger-snapping shuffles, and swinging hard bop numbers. For this massive, texturally rich session, Smith's legendary organ trio core is expanded into a powerhouse ensemble, featuring the tasty fretwork of guitar veteran Phil Upchurch and a brilliant brass section arranged by legendary saxophonist Buddy Collette. The tracklist features burning instrumental improvisations, a stellar revisit of his iconic masterpiece The Sermon, and standout guest vocal appearances by Marlena Shaw and Bernard Ighner. Packed with thick, driving bass-pedal lines and fiery, spontaneous horn interactions, this late-career gem stands out as a high-caliber testament to Jimmy Smith's enduring status as a giant of jazz and rhythm & blues.

Open House / Plain Talk is a magnificent, expanded double-session CD release capturing the undisputed king of the Hammond B-3 organ, Jimmy Smith, recorded during an exceptionally inspired single day in March 1960 for the legendary Blue Note Records. Originally split across two distinct, highly praised vinyl LPs (Open House and Plain Talk), this comprehensive collection unites both stellar sessions into one continuous, hard-swinging masterclass. Supported by his definitive core trio featuring guitarist Quentin Warren and drummer Donald Bailey, Smith elevates the groove by fronting a powerhouse three-horn frontline consisting of hard bop heavyweights Blue Mitchell, Jackie McLean, and the deeply soulful tenor saxophone of Ike Quebec. The collective trade blazing, raw improvisational lines across infectious blues pieces, finger-snapping uptempo shuffles, and gorgeous, late-night ballad renditions. Packed with immense rhythmic energy, thick bass-pedal grooves, and pristine audio quality, this definitive compilation remains an absolute cornerstone of the classic 1960s soul-jazz and hard bop movements.

Compared to his earlier Blue Note recordings, organist Jimmy Smith's outings for Verve are not as strong from a jazz standpoint. Certainly his renditions of the "Theme from Joy House," "The Cat," and the "Main Title from The Carpetbaggers" are not all that significant. However, this set has some tasteful arrangements for the big band by Lalo Schifrin, and some good playing by the great organist on a variety of other blues-oriented material. Also, the combination of organ with a big band is sometimes quite appealing, making this album worth picking up despite its commercial focus.

Proof that at his start, Jimmy Smith had a greatness that knew no bounds - as the album's one of a few that Blue Note recorded in the late 50s, but never issued until many years later - even though they had already released so many amazing records from this period! The set has Jimmy really cooking away - playing live at Small's Paradise, in a group that has Lou Donaldson's alto on just about every track, and tenor from Tina Brooks on most of the others too. Tunes are tighter and shorter than on the more jam session albums, which makes for a nice change.

Organist Jimmy Smith has a reunion on this CD with his 30 plus-year associates tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine and guitarist Kenny Burrell along with drummer Grady Tate. Together they play spirited and creative versions of standards and blues. The highpoints include "Midnight Special," a swinging "Main Stem," Tate's warm vocal on "My Funny Valentine" and a lengthy rendition of "Quiet Nights." Suffice it to say that this all-star date reaches its potential and is easily recommended to fans of straightahead jazz.

One of Jimmy's most classic albums for Blue Note - and a key example of why his solo skills on the organ surpassed most of his contemporaries! The record's got a stripped-down trio group of Jimmy, guitarist Quentin Warren, and drummer Donald Bailey - working through mostly familiar numbers, but taking them to places previously unheard of! The best example of this is the album's amazing version of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" - a classic groover that takes the old snoozer and pumps it up with a snapping rhythm, then features Jimmy really working the whole thing over with an incredible solo!

A surprisingly great meeting between Kenny Burrell and Jimmy Smith - and a set that's one of Jimmy's standout small combo sessions for Verve! The feel here is much more Jimmy Smith at Blue Note than some of the bigger group Verve dates of the 60s - and Kenny Burrell's sensitive guitar lines provide wonderful company for Smith on the date - shading in his Hammond lines with a nice sense of color, in ways that really fit the late nite setting of the record. Other players on the date include either Bill English or Mel Lewis on drums, George Duvivier or Milt Hinton on bass, Vince Gambella on guitar, and Art Marotti on percussion.

Most of organist Jimmy Smith's recordings for Verve during the mid- to late '60s were with big bands, making this trio outing with guitarist Kenny Burrell and drummer Grady Tate a special treat. This outing is a throwback to Smith's Blue Note sets (which had concluded two years earlier) and gives the organist the opportunity to stretch out on three blues and three standards. This release shows that, even with all of his commercial success during the period, Smith was always a masterful jazz player.

Although still a regular Blue Note artist (he would make four more albums for the company within the next year), Bashin' was organist Jimmy Smith's debut for Verve, a label that he would record extensively for during 1963-1972. On the first half of the program (reissued in full on this CD), Smith was for the first time joined by a big band. Oliver Nelson provided the arrangements, trumpeter Joe Newman and altoist Phil Woods have a solo apiece, and "Walk on the Wild Side" became Smith's biggest hit up to that point. The final three numbers feature Smith's regular trio with guitarist Quentin Warren and drummer Donald Bailey swinging with soul as usual. The historical set was a turning point for Jimmy Smith's career.

Softly as a Summer Breeze is one of Jimmy Smith's more obscure Blue Note dates. The six-song trio program finds the organist joined by either guitarist Kenny Burrell and drummer Philly Joe Jones, or guitarist Eddie McFadden and drummer Donald Bailey. At first glance, the album may look like a ballad-oriented set, but "Hackensack" really cooks, "Sometimes I'm Happy" struts, and "One for Philly Joe" (a familiar but unplaceable melody used for a later pop tune) heats thing up, and the LP has its exciting moments.

Damn! marked Jimmy Smith's return to the Verve label after an absence of 20-plus years (he originally recorded for the label from 1963 to 1972), and paired with a group of young and sympathetic jazz players that includes Roy Hargrove and Nicholas Payton on trumpet and Ron Blake and Mark Tuner on sax, he sounds invigorated here, striding across the Hammond B-3 keys with definite energy. The whole album, start to finish, works a wonderful groove, but versions here of James Brown's "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man," and Charlie Parker's "Scrapple from the Apple" are particularly strong. Smith was arguably at his best in stripped-down trios, and his work for Blue Note between 1956 and 1960 will always be the quality reference point for his extensive canon, but Damn! is right up there with his best work, full of a joyous energy, and it sparked a resurgence of sorts for Smith.

Playing piano-style single-note lines on his Hammond B-3 organ, Jimmy Smith revolutionized the use of the instrument in a jazz combo setting in the mid-'50s and early '60s, and arguably his best albums for Blue Note during this period were the ones he did with tenor sax player Stanley Turrentine. Recorded on February 8, 1963, at Van Gelder Studio in New Jersey, and featuring Quentin Warren on guitar and Donald Bailey on drums in addition to Smith and Turrentine, Prayer Meetin' is a delight from start to finish. Forming a perfect closure to Smith's trio of albums with Turrentine (Midnight Special and Back at the Chicken Shack were both released in 1960), Prayer Meetin' was the last of four albums Smith recorded in a week to finish off his Blue Note contract before leaving for Verve…

Playing piano-style single-note lines on his Hammond B-3 organ, Jimmy Smith revolutionized the use of the instrument in a jazz combo setting in the mid-'50s and early '60s, and this piano approach makes him a natural to adapt the piano tunes associated with Fats Waller to the B-3, which is what he did at the January 23, 1962, session that is represented here (Waller, by the way, was no stranger to the organ himself, and recorded several sides on the instrument). Working with guitarist Quentin Warren and his longtime drummer Donald Bailey (who worked with Smith throughout his Blue Note years), Smith brings his amazing rapid runs to Waller standards "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Honeysuckle Rose," and gives "Ain't She Sweet" a wonderfully warm and soulful groove. It's fairly typical Smith, who careens, bolts, stutters, glides, and flashes notes all over the place at a frequently breathless pace, doing what he always does, which is being Jimmy Smith at the organ. That's what you want, and that's what you get here.