The Sermon and House Party

Jimmy Smith Quartet 1957 ~ 'S Wonderful - 

Jimmy Smith - The Sermon (1964) -

As with many art forms, different styles of jazz have been given different labels (Dixieland/traditional, swing, bop, fusion, etc.).  While arguments about exactly what constitutes a given category or whether a certain recording or musician qualifies for that label are fairly useless in my view, these names do provide a useful shorthand for discussing the music.  So, with that, today we consider some of the masters of the style known as "hard bop."  Hard bop grew out of the bebop movement of the 1940's, which expanded the harmonic and rhythmic boundaries of jazz beyond its standing as pop/dance music and into the territory of being an art/concert music (while still retaining many elements of its popular appeal).  Speaking very generally, hard bop retained the rhythms, harmonies and technical virtuosity of bop, but leavened it by moderating tempos (bop tunes were often played extremely fast or extremely slow...to discourage dancing and encourage listening) and adding an obvious blues/funk/gospel feel.  Hard bop is most closely associated with the recordings of the Blue Note label in the 50's and 60's, and its leading voices included pianist/composer Horace Silver, trumpeter Clifford Brown and some of the musicians on today's featured CD's.

I originally intended to write about a CD I bought many years ago entitled "The Sermon" which features recordings made over 2 sessions (with some differences in personnel) in August 1957 and February 1958.  But, in looking for an amazon.com or iTunes link to that CD, I found that these tunes have now been repackaged in numerous combinations, but all of the songs I will write about can now be found by purchasing the CD's linked above (called "The Sermon" and "House Party").  (For this piece, I will refer to the tracks as they appear on my version of the CD, which is essentially the order in which they were recorded). 

Although Count Basie and others had dabbled with the organ as a jazz voice, Jimmy Smith, the leader on these sessions, was the first master soloist on the instrument and the influence for all who followed (Jack McDuff, Lonnie Smith, Charles Earland, Joey DeFrancesco, etc.).

Rather than a typical blowing session where all the horns play the head (melody) and take turns soloing, the album starts with features for each horn.  Lee Morgan (one of the avatars of hard bop, who later had a surprising Top 40 hit with The Sidewinder kicks things off with a wonderfully swinging and soulful take on the Gershwins' "S'Wonderful."  For me, his pure tone and relaxed-yet-buoyant fluency is jazz at its best.   Showcases for two other hard bop stars follow, trombonist Curtis Fuller on "Blue Room" and alto sax Lou Donaldson on the ballad "Lover Man." 

The first two tunes from the February 1958 date, Charlie Parker's "Confirmation" and "Au Privave," have more of a jam session feel, as the horns (with Tina Brooks, tenor sax, replacing Fuller) join together on the head before the soloing starts.  Two other hard bop greats join here, guitarist Kenny Burrell and legendary drummer Art Blakey (whose Jazz Messenger groups were the most famous training ground/finishing school in jazz).   Blakey's distinctive power and crackle are most evident on "Confirmation" which also features a beautiful solo from Burrell that renders meaningless any line between bop and hard bop.   (Or between bop and swing for that matter...Burrell plays with such melodic grace and balance that, like Benny Carter or Milt Jackson, he transcends genre and seems to fit within any setting.)  Morgan then takes another star turn on "Flamingo" before the session ends with a laid back blues, "The Sermon," about as perfect an example of the hard bop genre as you will find with great solos from all. 

Throughout all of these cuts, Jimmy Smith provides colorful and rhythmic support with his comping (the chords that a keyboardist plays under a solo), plays spectacular solos (using the stops of the Hammond B-3 to provide a variety of tonal color, from purrs to growls) and lays down solid bass lines (with his feet!).