28. Jimmy Smith - Back at the Chicken Shack

Artist: Jimmy Smith
Album: Back at the Chicken Shack
Year: 1960

I consider myself to have a pretty broad knowledge of jazz, but I can't say I'd ever heard Jimmy Smith prior to listening to this album. I didn't really have much of an idea what to expect.

What I found was an album very similar to a band I've heard a lot in the past few years: Medeski, Martin, and Wood, a band I've admired more than actively liked. The big difference between this form of jazz and the stuff from Brubeck, Miles Davis, etc. is the instrumentation. Jimmy Smith relies on the Hammond organ to provide the backbone of his sound. It really sounds great on Back at the Chicken Shack; this album really unlocks the hidden power of the organ.

This style of jazz is what folks refer to as "soul-jazz," it's a lot funkier than the breezier, poppier cool jazz that the West Coasters were throwing out there around this time. It isn't my favorite. My problem with it (and my problem with the aforementioned MM&W) is that all the songs sound exactly the same to me and while it all sounds nice while it's playing in the background, it's not really cerebral enough for me to want to listen to it closely. That's what I'm finding as I go through these albums, really. It isn't enough for the music to just make me wanna move. Rhythm, in fact, is probably the least important aspect in determining whether I will like something or not. What I seem to be appreciating in jazz is its unpredictability. I like the feeling of not knowing what's around the corner. That's what gives jazz its vitality in my opinion. That's what I totally loved about Thelonious Monk's "Brilliant Corners."

I admire what this album does, and it's totally ahead of its time. That Medeski sound is fully formed right now, 30+ years before that combo even got together. The organ has such a awesome sound, and whoever's playing the sax on this album is pretty fantastic too. But it's 40 minutes of the same tempo, the same dynamics, the same instrumentation. It all sounds identically to my ears. The first five minutes are fine, but then it becomes an endurance test. Just not my bag, really.

Rating: Not worth a listen