Jimmy Smith
Leonard Feather nailed it in The New Edition of the Encyclopedia of Jazz when he declared that Jimmy Smith’s “relationship to previous jazz exponents of the Hammond organ parallels those of Charlie Christian and Jimmy Blanton to earlier guitarists and bassists.” Building on the foundations of jazz organ established by Fats Waller, Wild Bill Davis, and Bill Doggett, The Incredible Jimmy Smith (as he was often billed) devised a genuinely revolutionary approach to the instrument that became wildly popular from coast to coast, spawning a brand-new sound that’s been adopted by legions of crowd-pleasing organists.
James Oscar Smith was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, on December 8, 1928. Although his year of... Read More
- City Of Origin:
- Norristown, Pennsylvania, United States
- Genre:
- Jazz, Soul Jazz, Jazz Funk, Classic Jazz
- Birthdate:
- 12/08/1925
- Death date:
- 02/08/2005
