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Sublime Hammond from Johnny Smith – a pair of early albums for Riverside, back to back on a single CD! Black Coffee is one of Johnny Hammond's first albums – and a cooking little live set that really has the organist working with some early raw power! The group's a trio, but they seem to burn differently than some of the other organ combos of the time – maybe with that fluid sensibility that Johnny brought to his keys, and which would later open up in even more famous ways. The core group features Eddie McFadden on guitar and Leo Stevens on drums – but they're joined by Seldon Powell on tenor for more than half the album, who really opens things up with his tremendous playing – and shows at an early state that Johnny Hammond always knows the right way to use a horn player. Titles include "Monterey Theme", "Far Away Places", "I Remember Clifford", "He's A Real Gone Guy", and "Rufus Toofus". Mr Wonderful is a record that definitely lives up to its title – reminding us not only that Johnny Hammond Smith is one hell of an organist, but also a great leader with a really unique feel for a groove! The set's noteworthy not just for Johnny's own work on Hammond, but also for the presence of a young Houston Person – blowing tenor here in a way that's breathtaking right from the start – a bold, soulful tone that's a perfect fit for the group – which also includes trumpet from Johnny Williams and guitar from Eddie McFadden. The set includes a lot of tasty originals by Johnny – like "Cyra", "Lambert's Lounge", "Departure", and "Opus 2" – and already shows the way that Hammond was complicating his groove from that of other players of the time!

A key turning point for Johnny Hammond Smith – 2 hip albums from the latter half of the 60s, a time when he was really changing up his groove! First up is Soul Flowers, one of Johnny's most obscure records – and a great little album that's filled with short tracks played by a largeish group – all in a groove that's almost got a cop show feel! The album's got a gritty, dirty feel that's totally great – a nice change from Johnny's early 60s soul jazz, and a definite nod at the funk that would come in the 70s. There's twin tenors on the date from Houston Person and Earl Edwards – who often blow together on the heads, creating a mini-horn section sort of feel that then breaks up into more of a small combo mode as the set rolls on. Guitar is by the wonderful Wally Richardson, who works alongside electric bass from Jimmy Lewis – rumbling nicely next to Hammond's newly-lean sound on the organ. Added congas from Richard Landrum round out the set – and titles include the wonderful "NYPD", plus "Dirty Apple", "Ode To Billie Joe", "Days Of Wine & Roses", "Tara's Theme", and "I Got A Woman". Dirty Grape is excellent work from Johnny Hammond Smith – a record that really lives up to the "dirty" in the title! The approach here is a bit like some of Jimmy McGriff's recordings at the end of the 60s – organ soloist riffing around on some short hard tracks, with a bit of electric bass in the mix to soup things up a bit, rhythm-wise! The players include Wally Richardson on guitar – whose solos and sound are almost as important to the date as Johnny Hammond's – plus the twin team of Houston Person and Earl Edwards on tenor, Fender bass by Jimmy Lewis, drums by John Harris, and added conga by Richard Landrum. Tracks include some very groovy numbers – like "Dirty Grape", "Animal Farm", and "Black Strap Molasses" – plus covers of "To Sir With Love", and "Love Is A Hurtin Thing".

One of Johnny Hammond's first albums – and a cooking little live set that really has the organist working with some early raw power! The group's a trio, but they seem to burn differently than some of the other organ combos of the time – maybe with that fluid sensibility that Johnny brought to his keys, and which would later open up in even more famous ways. The core group features Eddie McFadden on guitar and Leo Stevens on drums – but they're joined by Seldon Powell on tenor for more than half the album, who really opens things up with his tremendous playing – and shows at an early state that Johnny Hammond always knows the right way to use a horn player. Titles include "Monterey Theme", "Far Away Places", "I Remember Clifford", "He's A Real Gone Guy", and "Rufus Toofus".

A Johnny Hammond 2-fer – a pair of very early albums, back to back on a single CD! First up is Talk That Talk – subtle early magic from Johnny Hammond Smith, and the kind of sweet organ jazz set that really set Smith apart from his contemporaries in the 60s! There's a slightly offbeat vibe here that's hard to peg, but which already marks Hammond as one of the more inventive players of his generation – never content to just rehash R&B modes for jazz organ, and instead really exploratory in terms of timings and phrasings – using his instrument to great effect in a hip combo that features George Tucker on bass, Art Taylor on drums, and Ray Barretto on congas – plus some excellent tenor from Oliver Nelson on three tracks! Titles include "Talk That Talk", "Bennie's Diggin", "Portrait Of Jennie", "An Affair To Remember", "The End Of A Love Affair", "Riptide", "Misty", and "Minors Allowed". Getting The Message is a vibes and organ delight – a rare early set from Johnny Hammond Smith, and a date that features a key appearance from vibist Lem Winchester! Winchester only cut a handful of dates before shuffling off this mortal coil far too soon – and he's a hell of a player, with a richly chromatic tone that works beautifully next to Smith's organ lines – a pairing that's quite different than other organ/vibes duos you might know from the time, and one that's got to be heard to be fully appreciated! There's a complexity here that we love, even when things are straight and swinging – and titles include "Lid Flippin", "Getting The Message", "Princess", and "Dementia".

A sweetly funky set from Johnny Hammond Smith – a date done right at the start of the jazz funk era on Prestige – and one that marks a nicely heavy change in Johnny's sound! The format here is quite different than the style of Smith's early 60s work – with Hammond that's much more sharply tuned and direct – set amidst longer tracks that are freely jamming – served up with instrumentation that includes Rusty Bryant on tenor and a bit of alto, Wally Richardson on guitar, Bob Bushnell on Fender bass, and Bernard Purdie on drums. The best tracks are long, jamming numbers that really take off nicely – and titles include "Purdy Dirty", "Up To Date", "All Soul", and "Soul Talk".

A great little groover from Johnny Hammond Smith – and one of his rarest albums! The record may be rare because it's got a strange cover that features a comic character that looks like the Green Lantern, and Prestige might have gotten nervous about copyright infringement – but more likely they held it back because the record was such a good one! Johnny's in great form on the Hammond, and his combo really cooks nicely – with Floyd Smith on guitar, Earl Edwards on tenor, and Houston Person sitting in for the version of the title cut. The set features a great version of Smith's groover "Cleopatra & The African Knight", plus "Benny's Diggin", "There Is No Greater Love", "You Don't Know What Love Is", "The Stinger", and "Brother John".

A Johnny Hammond 2-fer – a pair of very early albums, back to back on a single CD! First up is Talk That Talk – subtle early magic from Johnny Hammond Smith, and the kind of sweet organ jazz set that really set Smith apart from his contemporaries in the 60s! There's a slightly offbeat vibe here that's hard to peg, but which already marks Hammond as one of the more inventive players of his generation – never content to just rehash R&B modes for jazz organ, and instead really exploratory in terms of timings and phrasings – using his instrument to great effect in a hip combo that features George Tucker on bass, Art Taylor on drums, and Ray Barretto on congas – plus some excellent tenor from Oliver Nelson on three tracks! Titles include "Talk That Talk", "Bennie's Diggin", "Portrait Of Jennie", "An Affair To Remember", "The End Of A Love Affair", "Riptide", "Misty", and "Minors Allowed". Getting The Message is a vibes and organ delight – a rare early set from Johnny Hammond Smith, and a date that features a key appearance from vibist Lem Winchester! Winchester only cut a handful of dates before shuffling off this mortal coil far too soon – and he's a hell of a player, with a richly chromatic tone that works beautifully next to Smith's organ lines – a pairing that's quite different than other organ/vibes duos you might know from the time, and one that's got to be heard to be fully appreciated! There's a complexity here that we love, even when things are straight and swinging – and titles include "Lid Flippin", "Getting The Message", "Princess", and "Dementia".

A sweet double-header from Johnny Hammond Smith – 2 early albums on a single CD! All Soul is one of the hardest to find albums by Johnny Hammond Smith – a sweet set of easy-going grooves, with a wonderful late night soul jazz approach! The feel here is very much in the mode of work by Jimmy Smith from the time – grooving by a rhythm group that includes Thornel Schwartz on guitar and Leo Stevens on drums, and freely styled solos by Johnny over the top! Titles include "Easy Like", "All Soul", "Secret Love", and "Sweet Cookies". That Good Feelin features some very early work as a leader from Hammond hero Johnny Hammond Smith! There's a slight R&B undercurrent on some of the cuts – that formative organ sound before the smoother styles of the 60s soul jazz years – and Smith's got help from Thornel Schwartz on guitar, who'd played famously with another Smith – Jimmy – plus George Tucker on bass and Leo Stevens on drums. Titles include the originals "Puddin" and "That Good Feelin" – plus "My Funny Valentine", "I'll Remember April", and "Billie's Bounce".

A well-titled Jazz Organ Summit – given that the players here include Lonnie Smith, Johnny Hammond Smith, Charles Earland, and Jimmy McGriff! Most of the players work solo – each getting a track or two on their own, before coming together for a great jam session at the end – and there's a core group of accompanists who include Jim Rotundi on trumpet, Mike Allemana on guitar, and Terry Morrisette on drums – plus other contributions from Eric Alexander on tenor and Greg Rockingham on drums. Titles include Lonnie Smith on "Cherokee", Johnny Hammond Smith on "The Masquerade Is Over" and "Summertime", Charles Earland on "I Love You More Today Than Yesterday", Jimmy McGriff on "Gospel Slo Blues" and "Groovin Blues" – and the whole group of organists come together on "Summit Intro/Summit Theme/Outro".

A stone classic from Gene Ammons – and a record that introduced his talents to a whole new audience in the 60s! The album's a more laidback one than some of Jug's more hard-blown honkers – as you might guess from his hit rendition of the ballad in the title – and the instrumentation here varies between organ from Johnny Hammond Smith and piano from Mal Waldron – making for a nice tapestry of dark-tinged, late nite moods. Other players include Frank Wess on tenor and flute, and Art Taylor or Ed Thigpen on drums. Titles include the classic "Angel Eyes", plus "You Go To My Head" and "It's The Talk Of The Town" – and slightly more groovin numbers like "Getting Around" and "Water Jug".

A sweet sweet set of electric 70s funk – recorded by Booker T during a brief, but well-needed reunion with the MGs! The sound here is quite different than Stax-era MGs – as Booker plays a range of keyboards, not just organ – and the grooves have these great jazz funk touches at the bottom – almost a CTI vibe at times, but packed with the tighter energy you'd expect from the group! Steve Cropper's guitar is great – super-fine, and razor-sharp – really helping cut a nice edge on the cuts – over bass from Donald Duck Dunn and drums from Willie Hall, who's the only new member of the group. In a way, the album feels like mid 70s efforts from Johnny Hammond or Jimmy Smith – sweetly soaring on a let-loose 70s vibe. Titles include the funky break track "Grab Bag", plus "Sticky Stuff", "Moto Cross", "Tie Stick", and "Space Nuts".

Excellent Kudu work from one of the greatest organists of the 70s – a player who really stretched out and opened up his groove during the decade! Johnny Hammond was also known as Johnny Hammond Smith back in the 60s – but by the time of his legendary run at Kudu/CTI, he'd hit a much different groove – working with tight soulful arrangements that really set him loose to run away on the keyboards – and hitting a lean, mean sound that was light years from his playing of the decade before. Arrangements here are by Bob James – with a super-dope style that's wonderful – kind of at the start of the mode that Hammond would hit with Larry Mizell – but also more of the harder, straight forward soul jazz of his Prestige years. Titles include versions of "Wild Horses" and "Rock Steady" – plus a groovy version of "Peace Train", featuring a long solo by Harold Vick!

A funky fusion classic – and quite possibly Bobby Lyle's most perfectly realized album! The set was Bobby's first full US outing, and it's filled with soaring, riffing keyboards that stretch out into territory explored a few years before by Johnny Hammond and Lonnie Liston Smith! The real difference, though, is the album's sweet soulful production from Wayne Henderson – who hooks in the best bits of Bobby's sound, and fuses them with a modern soul-styled groove that creates the same blend of jazz and R&B that you'd get on some of Eddie Henderson's best records from the time, or some of the best Ronnie Foster work on Columbia from a few years later. Bobby's keyboards are capable of hitting both a soulful groove and a deep jazzy vibe – and the record's got a rich palette of tunes that never fail to amaze us! Titles include "Mother Nile", "You Think Of Her", "The Genie", "Pisces", "Magic Ride" and "Night Breeze".

Legendary drummer Harvey Mason in sweet jazz funk groove at Arista – a way stronger record than we remembered! Harvey played on some of our favorite jazz funk records of all time – including the massive Gears LP by Johnny Hammond among so many other great albums – and on his on 70s work for Arista, he explored jazz funk and soul instrumentals, with an expansive approach. He was an integral piece of the pie on so many completely essential records by other artists, that it's far too easy to overlook the considerable strengths of the records he headlined, and this is surely of on one of those! Players include Lee Ritenour & Ray Parker on guitars, the Sea Wind Horns of Bruce Fowler, Sally and Kenny Mason, Greg Pillinganes and Paul Smith on pianos and organs, Jan Hammer on Mini Moog and others. Cuts include "Sweet Mercy", "Bertha Baptist", "First Summer" (with Harvey Mason on vibes, bells and chimes), "No Lands Man", "Sho Nuff Groove", "The Mase", "When I'm With You (Live Version)" and "KY And The Curb". This expanded edition from Soulmusic.com includes 2 bonus tracks: "KY And The Curb (US Single)" and "The Mase (UK Single)".

Amazing stuff! Johnny "Hammond" Smith began his career as a simple soul jazz organist – but by the time of Gears, he'd teamed up with the mighty Larry Mizell, the genius arranger/producer who'd breathed new life into the careers of Donald Byrd and Bobbi Humphrey. Mizell works with Hammond in the say we he does with other jazz artists – by taking a groove that works best with their solo style, and slowly layering other instrumentation and effects on top of it, so that when the solo kicks in, it's supported on waves and waves of funky sounds and soulful grooves. Mizell and his brother Fonce both play keyboards on the record, and the rest of the group includes monster fusion players like Harvey Mason, Roger Glenn, Hadley Caliman, and Jerry Peters. The real treat is Johnny, though – as his solos are heavenly, the best of his 70s work, stripped mean and lean, laid in at just the right points. Includes the breakbeat classic "Shifting Gears", the house classic "Los Conquistadores Chocolates", and funky numbers "Fantasy" and "Tell Me What To Do". The second half of this CD is Forever Taurus, which Johnny recorded right after his legendary Gears album, and it features production by Wade Marcus that's very much in the Larry Mizell mode that made Johnny huge in the 70s! As with the Gears record, Johnny's backed by a large ensemble of players – and the overall sound has lots of nice touches, extra percussion, and a good electric groove. Tracks include "Cosmic Voyager", "Walk In Sunshine", "Ghetto Samba", and the title cut.

Great late 70s work from Jimmy Smith – two albums back to back on a single CD! One of our favorite later albums from organist Jimmy Smith – and a set that cooks heavily in a wicked blend of jazz, funk, and soul! The style's a bit like the groove that Johnny Hammond hit during his Gears period – arranged by Eugene McDaniels and Alan Silvestri, with an approach that's somewhere between Larry Mizell and Skip Scarborough – tight grooves, bits of vocals, yet plenty of room for Smith's keyboard solos to take off over the top! Players include Herbie Hancock on piano, Alan Silvestri on guitar, and Lenny White on drums – but the main star is Jimmy – who's grooving massively over the top of the album, with soaring solos that are some of his best work from the late 70s. Our favorite track on here is a masterful take of "Can't Hide Love", but there's a lot of other nice funky tracks like "Slippery Hips", "My Place In Space", and "Give Up the Booty". Unfinished Business is mighty soulful business from the great Jimmy Smith – a set for Mercury Records that updates his sound slightly, yet also hits some classic Hammond lines too! Jimmy plays a bit of acoustic piano and keyboards in addition to his classic organ – and works here in a setting that's tightly arranged, yet mostly small combo – with work from Ray Crawford on guitar, Nolan Phillips on tenor and flute, and added percussion from Buck Clarke and Stephanie Spruill. Rhythms step along nicely in kind of a 70s take on 60s soul jazz modes – leaving lots of room for Jimmy to open up on his solos – but there's also a few other more ambitious moments, including a great take on "Serpentine Fire" arranged by Ronnie Foster – and a warmly wonderful "Stevie" – which is a suite of tracks dedicated to Stevie Wonder. Other titles include "8 Counts For Rita", "Blues For Charlie", "Until It's Time For You To Go", and "Norristown PA".

Funky fusion in a runaway spaceship – the second album by Larry Young's cosmic heavy Fuel ensemble! The album's a perfect batch of jazzy keyboard grooves in a tradition that includes Lonnie Liston Smith, Johnny Hammond, and Charles Earland during his Mercury years – with Larry on moog, organ, Hammond B-3, Fender Rhodes, and other cool keyboards – grooving with a sound that ranges from fast and choppy to sweet and spacious. Julius Brockington also plays a lot of funky keys on the set next to Larry, and although a few tracks have vocals, the real focus here is on the instrumentation. Titles include "Startripper", "Message From Mars", "Moonwalk", "Sticky Wicket", and "Flytime". His last album, and a nice bit of far-reaching funk!

One of the few Jimmy Smith albums issued on his own label – the tiny Mojo Records imprint, which he was running in the mid 70s when taking a break from the majors! The album's got a raw power that returns Jimmy to the glory days of his best 60s recordings – really taking advantage of the setting to cook up some great tracks! Side one features Jimmy with a trio in a live setting – a great little group that has Ray Crawford on guitar, working with Jimmy to cook up some great tracks that sound like some of his hard-hitting Blue Note trio sides. The other side's got more of a 70s funk sound – with Crawford again on guitar, plus Buck Clarke on percussion – and Jimmy himself on electric piano as well as organ. Those tracks have a nicely burning sound that's like some of Johnny Hammond's best Kudu work – and which puts Jimmy in a sweet electric funky style that he didn't always match on other 70s LPs! Loads of nice stuff – and titles include a great version of "Feel Like Makin Love", plus "Testifyin", "Jazz Scattin", "Lookin Ain't Getting", and "More To Life".

Crisply-tailored, yet soulful and groovy mod jazz from the 60s – a slew of great numbers by Byrdie Green, Johnny Lytle, Mark Murphy, Reuben Wilson, The Nightbeats, The Cals, Billy Larkin, Johnny Hammond Smith, Byrdie Smith and more! Lots of great stuff here, from names synonymous to moddish jazz and others that nicely fit that mold for a bit – cats like Buddy Guy, for instance. A sweet, sweet set from the passionate compilers at Kent UK! Includes "The Real Thing" by Troy Dodds, "Finders Keepers" by Floyd White, "Rod Run" by The Reuben Wilson Quartet, "Talkin' About Love" by Tobi Lark, "Screamin'" by Jack McDuff, "Double Love" by The Cals, "Tricky Too" by Gus Jenkins, "Fever" by Buddy Guy, "Work Song" by Clint Stacy, "My Beat" by George Stone, " It's Like Love" by Mark Murphy, "The Village Caller" by The Johnny Lytle Trio and more.