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!