JIMMY SMITH has PASSED !!!

The Innovator of Modern Jazz Organ is gone... It happened mid-day, Tuesday, February 8, 2005 in Phoenix Arizona. As you can imagine, comments and condolences are coming in from all over the world. The inevitability of Jimmy's death has finally become a reality. This makes it no easier for the thousands of Jazz Organists all over the world who have been influenced so deeply by Jimmy's music and innovations. There is no doubt about it...anyone who sits down at the organ...has a little of Jimmy Smith in them...no matter how hard they try to distance themselves from his playing. Jimmy established the sound and set the standard, PERIOD. (Photo Jimmy at his house in Sacramento in 1996 - photo Pete Fallico) How ever sad this time period is, it must also be a time of joy and celebration for us... for Jimmy left a tremendous legacy and will forever be remembered for his gift to the music world. He was honored as an American Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts just a few weeks ago. This must have given him a further sense of fulfillment...for it surely represented some long over due respect and acknowledgment from the music community and industry which, historically, have been blase about Jazz Organ in general. His latest recorded music with Joey DeFrancesco is being released as I write this... This, too, will serve to further his impact on the music world. In our sadness, we have much to be grateful for...Jimmy lived a long and exciting life. He was an unusual person, to be sure...but...like Miles Davis, he was about the music and the possibilities therein...more so than about developing his people skills. More details about Jimmy's passing and funeral arrangements to come... PF
http://doodlinlounge.com/index.html

Jimmy was indeed one of the greatest on
the Hammond organ. Was sad to read he
passed away. His music will live on
forever. RIP Jimmy..another great
lost to the music world.

Doug

That is a shock!! He will surely be missed.
I remember seeing him play at a jazz club in Montreal, Quebec. I was very close and could see his hands. His hands and fingers were exactly like mine. They weren't longer or fatter or stronger, just black. I was thinking that his ability to play better then me had nothing to do with his fingers.
I have an album called Jimmy and Wes ("Wes" Montgomery), the dynamic duo. Love that album especially the tune called Ogd. http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/product.aspx?ob=disc&src=art&pid=10373

Starkeeper

[This message has been edited by Starkeeper (edited 02-10-2005).]

What a legacy...a major influence for me!

He was a GIANT!


Russ