Jimmy Smith

★★★★ Groovin’ At Smalls’ Paradise Vol. 1 BLUE NOTE. LP

Hammond hero’s classic live album returns on vinyl.

Jimmy Smith was Blue Note’s most bankable asset in the late 1950s, so much so that Alfred Lion’s label recorded the organist at almost every opportunity. This particular set, recorded in a famous Harlem nightclub in November 1957, was the Pennsylvanian keyboardist’s twelfth LP for Blue Note in under two years and captures Smith accompanied by guitarist Eddie McFadden and drummer Donald Bailey. It’s a fine showcase of his flamboyant style, with the material ranging from languorous blues (After Hours) to slow, heavily ornamented, ballads (Lover Man, Body & Soul) and cool, finger-clicking swingers (Just Friends and Indiana). Though it’s hard for modern audiences, perhaps, to appreciate just how revolutionary the sound of Jimmy Smith’s electric Hammond organ was 62 years ago, his dazzling displays of virtuosity here still possess the ability to stun and awe.