Jimmy Smith

On the left with Wes Montgomery

I’ve decided to write a short shout out to a man I listened to for a while today.

It’s not very often that I listen to a piano player’s bass line, other than ostinato (Italian for ostentatious or stubborn), let alone two an organist’s feet. Most pianist’s left hand will play one of three or four clichés to move between the generic change at hand (vi-II-V-I, I-IV-I, etc) but After downloading the 3 volumes of Jimmy Smith’s “At the Organ” I found myself leaning into try to hear what was going on. Now, I realize once it gets cookin’ he doesn’t do much beyond reinforcing the roots of chords, but its still improvising on three different melodic and rhythmic layers all simultaneously. The other CD I got today was “Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter.” Another great example of breaking away from the cliché (Jaco)! So whether you read this blog for my sparse jazz references or not, remember to break away from the field. Whether you’re a keyboardist that understands bass lines, a bassists that can comp a ballad like a piano, or a cyclist that takes the different yet faster line (but not in a group setting), or the climber that mantels something to your shins twice a route (that’s me), rock it.

And here’s a joke because this entry was not funny.

What’s a tuna fish plus a tuna fish?

A fournafish! HAHAHA

Ps listen to "Duel" on "At the Organ Vol 2"