We’re Gettin’ Root Down
Since I just took off the Jimmy Smith track from last week, I feel obligated to include another JS gem. As I mentioned before, I didn’t find out about the greatness of Jimmy Smith until last year.
Little did I know, I was grooving to Jimmy’s organ when I didn’t even know it, on the Beastie Boys’ “Root Down”. If I had any sense, I would’ve tracked down the originator of that groove when I was listening to it in the mid 90’s. *slap across the face*
Well, it’s no surprise that the original absolutely destroys the Beasties’ take on it (and I do LOVE the Beasties’ version). But man, that beat (and the way it starts, cascading into that sick groove), that rhythm, the sweet low down Hammond… Sheesh.
Buy: Root Down
Photo credit: Hammondite, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
RIP Jimmy Smith
Hammondite, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons I didn’t discover Jimmy Smith until within the past year when I pulled out an old Blue Note Jazz Sampler that I had stashed away for years. Jimmy was a master of the Hammond B3 organ, and a pioneer of the organ as a jazz instrument. The sounds this man could put together are nothing short of amazing. I urge everyone to explore Jimmy’s music. Jimmy died on Wednesday at the age of 76 right down the road from me in Scottsdale, Arizona [NYT Obit].
Here’s one of Jimmy’s tunes from the early 70’s that absolutely COOKS…
Jimmy Smith – Sagg Shootin’ His Arrow – from ‘Root Down’, 1972, Verve – {Buy Jimmy Smith on Amazon}
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