Details

Field of Interest

Jazz

Content Type

Music recording

Duration

32 mins

Format

Audio

Sub Genre

Hard-Bop, Soul Jazz, Soul-Funk

Label

Verve Records

Performer

Jimmy Smith, 1925-2005, Jimmy Cleveland, 1926-2008, Al Cohn, 1925-1988, George Dorsey, George Duvivier, 1920-1985, Urbie Green, 1926-, Milt Hinton, 1910-2000, Quentin Jackson, 1909-1976, Joe Newman, 1922-1992, Johnnny Dandy Rodriguez, 1945-, Ernie Royal, Zoot Sims, 1925-1985, Clark Terry, 1920-2015, Phil Woods, 1931-2015, Jimmy Johnson, 1894-1955

UPC (Physical)

00602517868892

Date Recorded

1963-03-15

Release Date

2008-10-21

Review

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 with his recordings for Blue Note Records. After he moved to Verve Records, though, he began working in more big-band settings, experimenting a bit, although he was always the same Jimmy Smith whose rapid runs on the B-3 careened, stuttered, glided, and flashed all over the place at a frequently breathless pace. This set, recorded in 1963 in New York City, finds him working with arranger and conductor Oliver Nelson in a combined orchestral and big-band setting and what strikes first, aside from the movie soundtrack feel of Nelson's arrangements, is how varied the source material is, ranging from a huge make-over of Gus Cannon's old jug band tune "Walk Right In" to the Latin lilt of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Meditation," the funky hard bop of Horace Silver's "The Preacher," and the relatively restrained country prettiness of Don Gibson's "I Can't Stop Loving You." Smith bubbles and bounces through all of it at the B-3 while Nelson proceeds to fill every available corner with huge, sweeping orchestral washes and crescendos. The clear highlight, though, is the lead and title track, "Hobo Flats," which moves at a languid but wonderfully funky pace and establishes a groove as wide as the Mississippi River. Smith arguably was at his best in small combos, and at times he gets overwhelmed here by the big cinematic arrangements, but there's plenty to like with this set, even if it's a bit on the atypical side for Smith. It works well more than it doesn't. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide

Subject

Jazz, Music & Performing Arts, Hard-Bop, Soul Jazz, Soul-Funk, Hard-Bop, Soul Jazz, Soul-Funk

Keywords and Translated Subjects

Hard-Bop, Soul Jazz, Soul-Funk