Jimmy Smith: Jimmy Smith, the reigning "Emperor of the Hammond organ" who was widely credited with turning it from a novelty instrument in jazz to a legitimate option for keyboard players, has died aged 76.
Smith had been working regularly in recent months and was preparing for a national tour with friend and fellow organist Joey DeFrancesco to promote their new release, Legacy.
Although Smith didn't introduce the organ to jazz, he is credited with breaking new ground with it in over more than five decades. His hard-driving bebop and blues sound spawned many followers, including Jack McDuff and Jimmy McGriff.
"He had a real genius," said guitarist and educator Kenny Burrell, who played with Smith on more than a dozen recordings as a side man and as a leader. "If you think about the jazz greats on instruments - Miles (Davis), Charlie Parker and (John) Coltrane - Jimmy was in that league."
Smith was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, in December 1928. He learned the rudiments of piano and bass from his father, who played stride piano.
Smith quit high school and served in the navy during the second World War. After the war he used the GI Bill to attend several top music schools in Philadelphia, where he studied bass, piano and composition. He played piano in local R&B groups in the late 1940s and early 50s. But while on a visit to Atlantic City, he heard Wild Bill Davis playing organ in a swing band and was captivated.
"When he finished playing, I snuck up on the bandstand to touch the action," Smith told Down Beat magazine some years ago. "It was so soft. I knew I could play it."
Smith later said he borrowed money from a loan shark in 1954 to buy his first Hammond. He spent months learning the instrument.
He formed his first trio in September 1955 and started with club dates in the Philadelphia area. His debut in New York at the Club Bohemia in 1956 drew interest from many musicians, as did impressive performances at Birdland in New York City and at the Newport Jazz Festival. Smith was quickly signed to a record deal with Blue Note.
His first album, A New Sound, a New Star: Jimmy Smith at the Organ, signalled the arrival of a major talent. He recorded 30 albums for that label before leaving in 1962. After leaving Blue Note, Smith recorded for Verve for several years. Many of those albums were best sellers and included excellent big bands and the arrangements of Oliver Nelson. He toured nationally and internationally.
He settled in Los Angeles in the 1970s, and in 1976 he and his wife, Lola, opened Jimmy Smith's Supper Club in the San Fernando Valley. The club closed several years later, and the Smiths left Los Angeles. They settled in Arizona a year ago, and Lola died a few months later of cancer.
His survivors include two daughters, a son, a stepson and two sisters.
Jimmy Smith: born December 8th, 1928; died February 8th, 2005