Jazz Icons: Jimmy Smith Live in '69

I can't say enough to express what the sound of Jimmy Smith means to me. I was born and grew up in Harlem USA. one block from Minton's Playhouse. At the age of 15 I ran errands for the musicans and hid in the back of the club in order to watch a show. The likes of Blue Mitchel.Lou Donaldson, Stanley Turrentine, Monk, Carmen Mcrae and the list goes on. But never was I so blown away until I saw Jimmy Smith. I could not believe MY EYES. He was like an octopus. The hands and feet were totaly independent of each other and his head moved like Jerry Springers girls 'Show me the hands" Jimmy was truly INCREDIBLE. My favorite tune was 'There's A Small Hotel'Don't ask me why? maybe it was because I was ready to DO THE THING. lol.No, on the real side, Jimmy was, as Grover later stated when referring to Mr. RAY BRYANT: "PAR-EXECELLANCE" The only disapointment I had was, when I became an adult and no longer had to hide in the back of the clubs..Smalls, The Baron, Basie's.. Baby Grand, Franks.. Club LaChos (phonetic) at 155st and McCombs place. Now, that was one of the most intimate small clubs in Harlem. Great sound system and beautiful women, I was too young. lol. I'd Paint a Mustache at Birdland to hide from Pee Wee. Jimmy seldom appeared in NYC. I searched for days to find a DVD live performance of him. Thanks to 'JAZZ ICONS' distributed by AMAZON.COM at the ripe age of 71 I can enjoy my favorite instrument played by the greatest organist of all times JIMMY SMITH... Richard Grove Homes, Jack McDuff and Joey DeFRANCESCO's CD 'LIVE at the SPOT' Brings back memories of the Live jazz scens I grew up attending. CHECK OUT HOUSE PARTY BY JIMMY. For me,there is nothing that can compare with the slick TEMPO WHILE 'Trading Fours.' So If your young and never had a chance to see JIMMY SMITH: You have to purchase JAZZ ICON's Jimmy Smith @ The Organ. Live DVD.ENJOYJ.RAY HERBERT

Sometimes when someone is heralded as the King of Jazz Organ (Hammond B 3) we appease them by agreeing without really knowing. I think this 90 minute color video serves as ample testimony in behalf of that claim. Backed by guitarist Eddie McFadden & drummer Charlie Crosby this set swings: "Sonnymoon for Two" an upbeat tribute to Sonny Rollins, Days of wine & Roses (Move Over Mr. Mancini), 23 minutes of Smith's signature song "The Sermon", Alfie, Ellington's "Satin Doll (twice), "Organ GrinderSwing", "Got My Mojo Working", " See See Rider", (had he performed this on the west coast we can assume this would have been sea sea rider or sea surf rider), "A Funky Blues Called I Don't Know" (?), "My Romance". His best known Blue Note albums proclaimed him "The Incredible Jimmy Smith" and from the mid-50s to his death in 2005 he was The Incredible, King of Jazz Organ showcasing tunes about church, love and food. Amen.

Track Listing - 1. Sonnymoon For Two 2. Days of Wine & Roses 3. The Sermon 4. Alfie 5. Satin Doll 6. Organ Grinders Swing 7. Got My Mojo Working 8. See See Rider 9. A Funky Blues Called 'I Dont Know' 10. My Romance 11. Satin DollLeave it to Jazz Icons Productions & Naxos, and Paris, to give us our first great quality concert of Jimmy Smith. 90 Minutes of glorious black & white, with excellent sound, and a 24 page booklet. Circa 1969.After being very dissapointed with THE CHAMP dvd, this one shines and grooves!I was getting worried that there might be so little footage of Jimmy, we'd lost the chance at revisiting his genius on dvd. But, thanks to this concert, and his appearance on A NIGHT WITH BLUE NOTE dvd, we have him in all his home cookin' splendor!Lets hope more great quality videos of Jimmy Smith will be forthcoming. But for now, this one will be just fine!

I have lots of Jimmy Smith's recordings , but to see this DVD was special because Jimmy Smith was and always be the very best on the the Hammond B-3 organ. He swings so hard in the groove you have to move and be amazed at his technical prowess and how he makes the blues so soulful and delicious! What he does with the music is so easy to listen to. Everyone whoever heard of Jimmy Smith should make this recording a part of their collection! He's the best - period! Go ahead on Jimmy!

I am a musician, primarily blues but appreciate that there are only two kinds of music, good music and good music played badly. This is a blast from the past. The guitarist is too cool. How they played in suits is the the way it was. I enjoyed every minute of this DVD.

Jimmy Smith was one of the best if not the best organ play. The concert looks and sounds great guitar and drummer are also very good.

I've always been a fan of Jimmy Smith. And getting to see him at work is even better.He realy is a icon,king of the hammond organ.Teaming up with guitarist Eddie McFaddenand drummer Charlie Crosby puttin on a classic performance. If you're a fan, Jump on board and get it.

I am very pleased witb this dvd. Although the video is a little lacking (filmed in b&w in 1969) the sound has been remastered and it is great. Now I can remember the Jimmy Smith of old, at his funkiest best!!

Disappointing .

Wenn man frau diesen Jazz mag ist es perfekt. Ein Zeitdokument. Schwarz-weiss.Diese und andere Jazz-DVD's machen klar, daß reine Jazz-Hör-CD's im Vergleich zu DVD's langweilig sind, denn - Jazz jedenfalls! versteht sich besser, wenn wir der Entstehung, der Improvisation jeweils zu-SEHEN können.

Hatte mir diese DVD gekauft , weil ich großer Jimmy Smith Fan bin . Mir fehlte ein wenig der Drive anderer Konzerte .

Image et son corrects pour l'époque (1969), L'ORTF bossait bien !Document de qualité sur le roi du Hammond B3 que j'ai eu beaucoup de plaisir à voir et à entendre.

Cet immense organiste n'a jamais été aussi bon qu'en public. Et ce document reflête ce qu'il a été. Un des plus grands organistes au monde.