[By the Jazz Swamp] Organ Jazz Funk: JIMMY SMITH and BEASTIE BOYS [Super Personal Masterpiece Exploration Vol. 13]
In the previous article, I touched upon the "Electric Miles" era, where MILES DAVIS heavily introduced electric pianos. At that time, I talked about various things regarding electric pianos... and then, I thought that while electric pianos are great, organ jazz is also wonderful. So, today I will feature JIMMY SMITH, the leading figure of organ jazz.
Introducing the Hammond organ, which permeated church music/gospel, into jazz
The Hammond organ was developed in 1934 by the American inventor LAWRENCE HAMMOND. It seems this was intended as a substitute for the pipe organs used in worship. It spread to churches where Black people gathered and had no money, contributing to the development of gospel music. Then, it was brought into the world of jazz by musicians who had become accustomed to the sound of the Hammond. COUNT BASIE had already adopted the Hammond in his band by 1939, and record recordings began in the 1950s.
JIMMY SMITH was a man who taught himself piano from childhood and also learned to play bass in the Navy band during his military service. After being discharged, he became obsessed with this Hammond organ. He immediately bought one on credit and mastered a novel performance technique that also covered the bass part by making full use of the foot pedal keyboard. That is why his early band was a trio consisting of drums, guitar, and organ. "I fired the bassist and increased my share of the pay" is the kind of reputation he had.
ALFRED LION of BLUE NOTE fell in love with him, and he participated in over 40 sessions, releasing over a dozen leader albums on this prestigious label. In 1962, he moved to VERVE. At first, his performances were cool, and they had an atmosphere like a modern spy movie soundtrack (like "THE CAT" in 1964), but as time went on, he gradually began to bring the wild, rustic nature of the Hammond organ to the forefront.
The masterpiece jazz-funk "ROOT DOWN LIVE!" 1972
The era jumps forward to 1972. The year after MILES DAVIS's "BITCHES BREW." His album "ROOT DOWN," which can be called his representative work, was released! This is aggressively funky and cool!
It was recorded at the Los Angeles live house BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB (there is a band with the same name in the UK now). As expected, the band at this time also had a bassist, and they incorporated percussion and blues harp. The members were gathered from the R&B/blues scene, not limited to the jazz field. There are members who would participate in MARVIN GAYE's "LET'S GET IT ON" the following year. Whether it's MILES or MARVIN, it was a time when they were releasing works that became turning points in the trends of the era, and various talents were collaborating across genres in various settings. This "ROOTS DOWN" is one of those albums.
The first track, "SAGG SHOOTIN' HIS ARROW," is a thrilling speed-funk song. Since the drums and bass are from the "LET'S GET IT ON" participant group, their foundation is too strong. To add a little more, the bassist WILTON FELDER was a founding member of THE JAZZ CRUSADERS and also participated in the JACKSON 5's "I WANT YOU BACK." With such strong players in defense, JIMMY's organ and the guitar running alongside with a wah-wah pedal take heavy solos and go on a rampage.
The second track is a slightly mellow, mid-tempo, heartwarming taste. The deeply flavorful tone of the HAMMOND B3, a popular model that remains a staple to this day, has a human warmth, and JIMMY's playing is very busy and very funky. The third track is a slow, earthy blues with a low center of gravity. That said, JIMMY's organ is eloquent and dense. The playing of guitarist ARTHUR ADAMS (who is also a strong player who has performed around THE JAZZ CRUSADERS and QUINCY JONES), trained in Chicago blues, also has guts and is good. With the addition of the blues harp, it really feels great.
The fourth track is the title track, "ROOT DOWN." This is just so cool! From the intro, the bass line is too cool, the drums are tight, the guitar's sharp accents, followed by the restrained organ playing, and the ensemble leading up to the break is tasteful! And the tension gradually rises with the exchange of solos between the guitar and organ in the foreground. Each person's playing is sharp and sophisticated, certainly jazz, and at the same time, perfectly funk. I am amazed at the diversity of the drum work! That said, the organ is still the best. The texture of the Hammond organ, which resonates with overtones like it's trembling, and JIMMY's technique of changing it in various ways like a magician. It's a masterpiece performance.
The fifth track is the Southern soul classic AL GREEN's "LET'S STAY TOGETHER." The audience also cheers with "Yeah!" at this song selection. It's a heartwarming soul that leaves the atmosphere of the original song thick, and since it's a band with high basic combat power in the R&B world, there is zero discomfort, and this is also groovy. The sixth track is a speed-funk song again for the finale, "SLOW DOWN SAGG," but it doesn't slow down at all despite the title. There are even percussion and bass solo parts, a deliberate all-out effort, and everyone is a star player. On top of that, JIMMY's free organ playing, jumping around innocently, feels great.
No, really, I want rock listeners, rather than jazz listeners, to listen to this. It's a waste to keep this dynamism confined within a genre!
My CD is a reissue from around 2000, so it includes an alternate take of "ROOT DOWN" as a bonus track, but it takes it to a completely different atmosphere despite using the same ingredients. I realized that if excellent musicians deliberately set out to change the mood, it can become a different song in an instant. It's amazing, seriously.
BEASTIE BOYS sample "ROOT DOWN"! / Influence on future generations
And the reason I learned about this JIMMY SMITH album is the New York hip-hop unit BEASTIE BOYS. On their fourth album, "ILL COMMUNICATION" (1994), they sample JIMMY SMITH's performance heavily in a song called "ROOT DOWN." It's a track that seems to have been edited and constructed by sampling about a minute from the intro of the original song. This is also really cool... The name JIMMY SMITH appears in the lyrics, and the jacket photo is also shown in the music video, so it's a mechanism where you can quickly find out the original source. The content of the lyrics itself has a tone of "let's get back to basics while keeping our feet on the ground and relaxing" (though it feels energetic in their tone), and it's a song that pays respect to the pioneers of music, from old-school NY hip-hop to BOB MARLEY. Actually, I had to wait for the CD reissue to reach JIMMY's album, so I didn't settle the score with the song I heard when I was a student until after I got married.
In addition, the BEASTIE BOYS seem to have an attachment to the Hammond organ. Before they started hip-hop, they were a complete punk band (or rather, they made many punk tunes after that and are the type to play instruments live). The video I posted above is a song called "GRATITUDE" included on their third album, "CHECK YOUR HEAD" (1992). At the end of this song, which is performed in a band format, a Hammond organ, probably the same model HAMMOND B3 as JIMMY's, and the LESLIE SPEAKER, which is equipment used in pairs with it, are shown. The LESLIE SPEAKER is a mysterious device that makes sound by having parts spin inside, and when I first saw this music video, I thought, "What is this?" Moreover, for various reasons, it seems that Japanese companies hold the trademark rights for both HAMMOND and LESLIE. Oh, the outdoor performance in the "GRATITUDE" music video is said to be an homage to PINK FLOYD's Pompeii live. The location selection and filming techniques are referenced and followed, and for now, it says PINK FLOYD on the equipment rack.
To add more trivia, this organ player is an artist named MONEY MARK. He has mixed roots with a Japanese-Hawaiian father and a Chicano mother, and his real name is MARK RAMOS NISHITA. It's a strange coincidence that MARK was the carpenter hired for the home renovation when the BEASTIES, who were pure NY kids, moved their base to LA, and he started his music career. It shows the depth of the BEASTIES' tolerance to incorporate a carpenter into their band if he's interesting, but his music is actually unique, and I just love his music, such as releasing multiple solo albums from the British label MO'WAX (though he doesn't put much on subscription services). I've seen him in BEASTIES live footage, almost doing a handstand on the organ keyboard because he was so excited. Pay attention!
Now, JIMMY SMITH's performance is said to have had a wider influence, not just being sampled by later hip-hop. Keyboardist BRIAN AUGER, who was active from the 60s Mod era to the 70s prog era (I love him from his THE TRINITY days!), as well as JON LORD of DEEP PURPLE and KEITH EMERSON of EL&P. JON and KEITH demonstrated an experimental spirit by bypassing the LESLIE SPEAKER and plugging the organ into a guitar amp. If you go further down in time, there's the jam band trio MEDESKI, MARTIN & WOOD. They play funk/hip-hop by making full use of vintage equipment such as not only the Hammond but also the clavinet and mellotron.
And, the BEASTIE BOYS, one of the members, MCA, passed away at the young age of 47 due to cancer in 2012, and their activities stopped completely... But, MIKE D is releasing a solo album soon! Before I knew it, he turned 60, reached his 60th birthday, and he looked a bit wrinkled in the video. His eyes had also become gentle, even though he was a character like a mad dog. But I'm rooting for him! Actually, the motivation for this article might have been more about the BEASTIE BOYS!
Thank you for reading my rambling text to the end this time as well. I finally realized that it's normal for note articles to have fewer characters...? Also, is it normal to have many line breaks or extra spacing between lines? I feel like I can't follow that etiquette at all...
I didn't notice, but there are times when the management translates articles into English. I just started, but it seems like about a third of the articles are in English. Is that how it is?? I would love to hear the opinions of people overseas.