Jimmi Smith
The Cat

Officially, he was never defined as a blues artist. Jimmy Smith is the one who, with his captivating funky-jazz sound, the richness of a structured and lively sound, contaminates the more spiritual and melancholic part of the music with biting jazz improvisations, graceful and introspective atmospheres, and clever stylistic inventions. Sadness is never perceived in the notes written and sprayed into the air with the eclectic sensitivity of an artist who managed to create a fresh and very personal style. He is the one who gave visibility to the electric organ, making the Hammond sound famous. It wasn't Jimmy Smith who discovered the electric organ, let that be clear. With this instrument, Wild Billy Davis and Count Basie had already expressed themselves at a very high level. But the Pennsylvania organist did something that no one else had succeeded in. He wrote pages of music that no one could forget. His is action music, with distant veins of suffering, full of tension and foreboding. Smith's greatest expression can be easily found in the biting work "The Cat", which, for its melodic lines and the bursts of sound from the horns, still amazes today and sets essential rules. These are acidic and mixed sounds, with one foot in cool jazz and the other in blues.

Work from 1964, recorded multiple times, under the Verve label, which contributed to fueling Smith's legendary fame, underlining his eclecticism with the nickname "The Incredible". His hysterical and ultra-fast hands transform the atmosphere, giving it density and vibrant excitement. 8 trumpets, 4 trombones, 4 French horns, tuba, guitar, drums, percussion, and arranger make each piece full of structure and depth. In the eight tracks of the album, various blues can be heard. The fiery insertions in "Basin Street Blues" and the uncontrollable and defiant emotion of "St. Louis Blues" are startling. Nocturnal, introspective, and penetrating is the song "Blues in the Night". Gospel roots in "Chicago Serenate". Genuine action music (perfect for an old 007 movie) is the opening track "Theme From Joy House". Magnificent in content and impeccable in structure, "The Cat", true example of Smithian orchestration spiced up with Hammond. A gourmet dish.

Wise music, eight orchestral tracks of the highest quality and comforting auditory impact. There is tension, melody, melancholy, and spectacular harmonic turns. Various musicians were inspired by Smith. The Beastie Boys paid tribute to him by mentioning him in one of their tracks and using the bass lines of one of his songs. Having written memorable pages of music and made the Hammond keyboard popular, the genius of Jimmy Smith rests in peace since 2005 in his Pennsylvania. He played live until he was eighty. The incredible Jimmy Smith!