Customer Reviews

Angel Eyes

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Being a a fan of Jimmy Smith since 1966, I was impressed how Smith had advanced his art. Smith has always been famous for his speed, funk and melody, but "Angel Eyes" greatly magnifies these traits beneith the heavy cloak of soporific balladry - and these ballards are absolutely beautiful. If you are new to the B3 organ or a long time fan, there is no better recording to highlight the power of this instrument and its Godfather. Smith distills a half century of life and playing into one of the finest jazz recordings of all time. This recording just gets better and better after every listening. If you could pick only five jazz recordings to take to another planet (assuming you couldn't return home for more), this would easily make the cut. (The guitar work is very tasty as well.)

A somewhat dismissive review of this album on allmusic.com (''the results (although pleasant) are uneventful and somewhat predictable. Good for late-night background music rather than for close listening'') spurred me to write a counter view on an album I have come to love. But I see several other Amazon consumers are there ahead of me, and express opinions with which I concur. This is one of the most finely developed collections in the entire Jimmy Smith oeuvre. We fans of Smith love the Chicken Shack groove and the Mojo heat, but here he is surpassingly sublime on, for example, ''Tenderly'' in duet with Christian McBride. I can only endorse the other five-star reviews and am pleased to find others share my delight.

Who would have suspected that Jimmy Smith would put out something this great this late in his career? This is music so cool and laid-back that it takes a few listens to realize how deep and complex it is. This is fine music by a mature artist.

One of the great mysteries in the history of organ jazz is the lack of solo recordings from the old organ masters (you can find solo organ recordings from Barbara Dennerlein and Rhoda Scott). Given the unlimited possibilities and sounds from the Hammond B-3 organ, this instrument is far more colourful than the piano for solo recordings. Recording history can't be changed but with this excellent small format album, Jimmy Smith delivers one of his most memorable albums, almost closing the gap to a have a solo recording under his belt (yes, he recorded some great solo tunes on "The Sound Of Jimmy Smith" on Blue Note, not to forget). This recording marks Jimmy return to Verve Recorded in 1995, which also resulted in the "Damn" album. "Angel Eyes: Ballads & Slow Jams" presents Jimmy in a variety of small formats - from solo, duo, trio..and sextet. Jimmy gives the beloved tunes "Bess, Oh Where's My Bess" and "What What A Wonderful World" a real solo treat utilizing the dynamic range of two manuals and pedals with his phenomenal technique and passion for the balladry. An unusual and stunning performance is the duo performance with Christian McBride on acoustic bass and Jimmy on organ bass, "Tenderly" will never be the same after this. With Nicholas Payton, Mark Whitfield, Roy Hargrove and Gregory Hutchinson as sidemen gives the album the right high quality slow-down moods as expected from the album title.

The grooviest slow jams you'll ever hear. Buy it. Play it. Enjoy