Soul Stream Posted February 9, 2005 Report Posted February 9, 2005 (edited) The Album of the Week for Feb. 13th, 2005 is Jimmy Smith's "The Sermon" along with it's twin "Houseparty." In honor of the great king of the organ's passing. And just because it's simply one of the greatest jazz recordings in history. However, the original "The Sermon" album only contained 3 songs. "The Sermon" "JOS" and "Flamingo." On CD, Blue Note has mixed and matched the songs from "The Sermon" and "Houseparty" in various ways over the years since they come from the same 2 recording sessions of August 25th 1957 and February 25th 1958. So, I think it's fair to say all the songs from these two sister LPs are fair game. The songs from The Sermon and Houseparty include. The Sermon JOS Flamingo S'Wonderful Blue Room Lover Man Just Friends Confirmation Blues After All Au Privave Edited February 9, 2005 by Soul Stream Quote
SNWOLF Posted February 9, 2005 Report Posted February 9, 2005 Love this album. And the other one he did with a similar lineup (same? I'm away from my CDs) I love too, "Cool Blues". I think Tina Brooks and Jimmy Smith are incredibly compatible. Quote
Soul Stream Posted February 9, 2005 Author Report Posted February 9, 2005 (edited) Love this album. And the other one he did with a similar lineup (same? I'm away from my CDs) I believe you're thinking of "Houseparty" which is also included in the AOTW along with "The Sermon" since they're culled from the same 2 sessions of August 25, 1957 and Februray 25, 1958. I've since edited my original post to clarify it. Edited February 9, 2005 by Soul Stream Quote
Big Al Posted February 9, 2005 Report Posted February 9, 2005 Grrrrrrrreat choices!!! That all-star jam from 8/25/57 is one of my favorite recording sessions period!!! Quote
Jim Alfredson Posted February 9, 2005 Report Posted February 9, 2005 The Sermon (with the extra tracks) was one of my first Jimmy Smith CDs. I damn near wore that thing out. There is so much information packed into those sessions for the up and coming organist, for drummers who want to play with the organ, for guitarists, etc. Great pick! Long live JIMMY SMITH! Quote
sidewinder Posted February 9, 2005 Report Posted February 9, 2005 Great choice. I'll be putting on the vinyl of 'The Sermon' a bit later on. I'll also give the RVG CD of 'House Party' a spin too. Absolute classics. Love the way that Jimmy pulls the stops out (I guess that's what it is? - not being an organ player) during his solo on 'The Sermon'. When that happens with the hifi cranked up it sets up a resonance in my front room ! Quote
Big Al Posted February 9, 2005 Report Posted February 9, 2005 Anybody else dig it how, on "J.O.S.," Mogie plays right through Jimmy's "signal" to stop soloing?!?!? Ooooowhee, I would've loved to hear the shoutin' that took place after THAT take! Quote
Brad Posted February 9, 2005 Report Posted February 9, 2005 Yeah, Al, I love that. Very funny. No doubt about who was running the show. I heard Flamingo this morning on WKCR. Simply beautiful and moving version. Quote
SNWOLF Posted February 9, 2005 Report Posted February 9, 2005 I just had a quick look at CDUniverse, which often lists personnel. Cool Blues has at least three of the musicians on House Party: Lou Donaldson, Art Blakey, and Tina Brooks. I've only ever owned The Sermon, but I've heard Cool Blues at a friend's place and really enjoyed it. Never heard House Party, but with that lineup it looks great. So it looks like Cool Blues and House Party will be on the buying agenda. Quote
Roundsound Posted February 11, 2005 Report Posted February 11, 2005 When I first got into jazz, I was reading David Rosenthal's book- Hardbop. He spoke highly of The Sermon and the Sermon was one of my first 25 jazz CDs. What makes it so great is that it is a great sampler of the Blue Note artists. Lee Morgan is just great on it. I love Curtis Fuller feature on Blue Room and of course the rare Tina Brooks. I think George Coleman on Alto, which is also rare. Quote
tonym Posted February 11, 2005 Report Posted February 11, 2005 (edited) Well done! Brilliant choice. The Sermon is and was my first choice of cassette for the car if I was travelling any great distance. Driving to France I must have heard the title tune two dozen times. It has never put me off. What a line-up too. Every solo tingles and buzzes -- and I don't thrive on tingles and buzzes, bit more melancholic, me. The George Coleman solo on Just Friends has to be the second best solo on that tune ever. Enough going on even without touching what Jimmy Smith contributes to these dates. Edited February 11, 2005 by tonym Quote
Brad Posted February 15, 2005 Report Posted February 15, 2005 Has anybody had a listen in the past few days to Six Views of the Blues but that is a fantastic album. It might be one of my favorite Jimmy Smiths, more so than the Sermon. And is that Cecil Payne's only BN appearance? Quote
couw Posted February 15, 2005 Report Posted February 15, 2005 Cecil Payne also appeared on KD's "Afro Cuban" sessions and he was also present at the Tadd Dameron led date that was released on the Lost Sessions conn. Quote
Soul Stream Posted February 15, 2005 Author Report Posted February 15, 2005 O.K...everybody join hands and put on The Sermon and Houseparty.... and hey, even if you're not the biggest organ fan, there's plenty of great horns here for anybody...lee, tina, lou, george....so no whining. Quote
Big Al Posted February 15, 2005 Report Posted February 15, 2005 Has anybody had a listen in the past few days to Six Views of the Blues but that is a fantastic album. It might be one of my favorite Jimmy Smiths, more so than the Sermon. And is that Cecil Payne's only BN appearance? Heck yeah, that is a FINE album. I never thought I'd enjoy Blakey playing so understated, but it is soooooo sweet! Quote
JohnS Posted February 15, 2005 Report Posted February 15, 2005 140 minutes of Jimmy Smith straight off without a dull moment. Great stuff. The February session is relaxed almost to the point of being casual, the August session is more lively but there's not a lot to choose between them. Everyone plays well and makes an impression though I'm not sure that George Coleman fits in that well with the format. I particularly enjoyed Flamingo with it's lyrical Morgan, a great way to end the cd. I can remember when the B3 was rubbished in some of the British jazz press. That probably had an effect on my early listening, but then I heard Jack McDuff on Kirks Work, no going back after that. Quote
etherbored Posted February 15, 2005 Report Posted February 15, 2005 i think this is my definitive version of s'wonderful (which is saying something). the sermon holds a special place in my heart as it's the furst blue note i was given as a child... there is no more magical a session in the whole catalog. -e- Quote
Brad Posted February 16, 2005 Report Posted February 16, 2005 Cecil Payne also appeared on KD's "Afro Cuban" sessions and he was also present at the Tadd Dameron led date that was released on the Lost Sessions conn. Thanks for doing the research that I was too obviously lazy to do Quote
Soul Stream Posted February 17, 2005 Author Report Posted February 17, 2005 I've been screwing up my own AOTW....been listening to the hell out of the Chicken Shack/Midnight Special session. Hard to believe they cut both those LPs in one afternoon. With no rehearsal. Turrentine said Jimmy drove by him on the way to the studio and stopped and asked him if he wanted to play.... It's sh*t like that which really blows my mind. I mean you can tell some of those tunes are johnny-on-the-spot made up (Messy Bessie, ect.)... Even "Minor Chant"...Jimmy does that killer little chord intro into that...and it kills. You know he just threw it out off the top of his head. Bastard, he was a genius. Quote
king ubu Posted February 17, 2005 Report Posted February 17, 2005 I've been screwing up my own AOTW....been listening to the hell out of the Chicken Shack/Midnight Special session. Hard to believe they cut both those LPs in one afternoon. With no rehearsal. Turrentine said Jimmy drove by him on the way to the studio and stopped and asked him if he wanted to play.... It's sh*t like that which really blows my mind. I mean you can tell some of those tunes are johnny-on-the-spot made up (Messy Bessie, ect.)... Even "Minor Chant"...Jimmy does that killer little chord intro into that...and it kills. You know he just threw it out off the top of his head. Bastard, he was a genius. Now let's hope they finally RVG them! I'm just spinning tons of Smith as I'll do a short memorial thing on radio on Sunday and have to decide on the tunes. Will definitely play the opener of "Back at the Chicken Shack", which probably still is my favourite Smith album (the first I got, too). How about digging the vaults and give us a bit of studio atmosphere, maybe a few false starts, and if we're really really lucky, there's an alternate or two? A nice 2CD set like the Turrentine/Three Sounds would be so sweet! Quote
Soul Stream Posted February 17, 2005 Author Report Posted February 17, 2005 I've been screwing up my own AOTW....been listening to the hell out of the Chicken Shack/Midnight Special session. Hard to believe they cut both those LPs in one afternoon. With no rehearsal. Turrentine said Jimmy drove by him on the way to the studio and stopped and asked him if he wanted to play.... It's sh*t like that which really blows my mind. I mean you can tell some of those tunes are johnny-on-the-spot made up (Messy Bessie, ect.)... Even "Minor Chant"...Jimmy does that killer little chord intro into that...and it kills. You know he just threw it out off the top of his head. Bastard, he was a genius. Now let's hope they finally RVG them! I'm just spinning tons of Smith as I'll do a short memorial thing on radio on Sunday and have to decide on the tunes. Will definitely play the opener of "Back at the Chicken Shack", which probably still is my favourite Smith album (the first I got, too). How about digging the vaults and give us a bit of studio atmosphere, maybe a few false starts, and if we're really really lucky, there's an alternate or two? A nice 2CD set like the Turrentine/Three Sounds would be so sweet! Yeah, I'd love to hear some JOS false starts or studio chatter. Never really heard any on him, or any BN or Prestige organ date come to think of it. Quote
king ubu Posted February 17, 2005 Report Posted February 17, 2005 I've been screwing up my own AOTW....been listening to the hell out of the Chicken Shack/Midnight Special session. Hard to believe they cut both those LPs in one afternoon. With no rehearsal. Turrentine said Jimmy drove by him on the way to the studio and stopped and asked him if he wanted to play.... It's sh*t like that which really blows my mind. I mean you can tell some of those tunes are johnny-on-the-spot made up (Messy Bessie, ect.)... Even "Minor Chant"...Jimmy does that killer little chord intro into that...and it kills. You know he just threw it out off the top of his head. Bastard, he was a genius. Now let's hope they finally RVG them! I'm just spinning tons of Smith as I'll do a short memorial thing on radio on Sunday and have to decide on the tunes. Will definitely play the opener of "Back at the Chicken Shack", which probably still is my favourite Smith album (the first I got, too). How about digging the vaults and give us a bit of studio atmosphere, maybe a few false starts, and if we're really really lucky, there's an alternate or two? A nice 2CD set like the Turrentine/Three Sounds would be so sweet! Yeah, I'd love to hear some JOS false starts or studio chatter. Never really heard any on him, or any BN or Prestige organ date come to think of it. Maybe because it was "only" organ jazz they didn't do as many second takes etc as usual? Just a guess... Quote
mikeweil Posted February 17, 2005 Report Posted February 17, 2005 I'd rather assume Jimmy Smith's attitude didn't allow for imperfect material to be preserved. Quote
mikeweil Posted February 18, 2005 Report Posted February 18, 2005 Here goes the thread killer ... ? Quote
CJ Shearn Posted February 18, 2005 Report Posted February 18, 2005 theres plenty of studio chatter on "Legacy" with Joey D. and Jimmy. Quote
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