Jimmy Smith was a fierce motherfucker. Here he's perfectly matched by Lalo Schifrin's orchestration, all nonstop spikes and yikes. It's a great combination: surging, roiling, strafing orchestration in combat mode, with the muscle-bound champ wrestling the huge dragon-like B3 to the floor in the center of the soundstage.
It's a knife brawl in musical form. In case I'm not being clear: this is not relaxation jazz.
Home-digitized, from a well-loved record. Apologies for fuzz and/or crackle.
5 comments:
WOW...I can't wait to listen to this. Awesome...I've always wanted to see Jimmy Smith live.. is he still alive?
Sadly, wikipedia says he died in 2005. I remember reading a concert review in San Diego in the 1990s.
The reviewer was angry because Jimmy Smith was so loud that it seemed disrespectful. Swung like a mutha, but too loud.
I have a few other records of his, most of them are more chill than this and thus less notable. But they've all got serious sparkle and groove. Unfortunately I haven't digitized any of them yet.
WHOA!!! THIS IS MAD!! Who arragned the music? It's Basie meets the 60's in a 70s detective movie with some bad ass key boarding!! WOW! You can see the Go-Go dancers crawling out of the speakers.....WOW!!! Amazing...
As far as I can tell Lalo Schifrin was awesome in general, but I've heard a couple other things and they were much tamer than this. It's really perfect, and your description hits it pretty right. Really I'm not sure if the record is more about him or Mr. Smith. It sure is a good combination.
How's your car? Were you able to get home ok?
Haven't listened to this one yet but it seems like it may be a relevant compare & contrast:
http://sleazy-listening.blogspot.com/2009/07/lalo-schifrin-bullitt-1968.html
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