Jimmy Ponder

One of the grooviest albums ever from Jimmy McGriff -- a hard-wailing session that's filled with plenty of cooking lines on the organ, and a few especially funky tracks! The groove here is tight, short, and very sharp -- strongly in the mode of other post-Sue sessions by McGriff -- like The Worm or other Groove Merchant sides -- with a style that's often much more focused than Jimmy's earlier years, and strongly turned towards the rhythms of the tunes! A few numbers are more familiar soul jazz, but these are nicely offset by the harder funk numbers of the record -- like the romping, stomping break classic "The Main Squeeze", the totally groovy "The Worm Turns", and the fast-vamping "GMI". The group features Jimmy Ponder on guitar and Connie Lester on alto sax -- and other titles include "The Sermon", "Stella By Starlight", and "The Blues Train To Georgia".

Legends Of Acid Jazz Vol. 2 is the 1999 compilation CD by jazz saxophonist Rusty Bryant. Part of Prestige Records' Legends Of Acid Jazz series, this puts together two of Bryant's albums in their entirety from the early 1970's: Fire-Eater and Wildfire and true to their name, both are hot.

When Jimmy Smith burst on the scene in 1955, playing his exciting brand of jazz organ at the Café Bohemia and the following year on records for Blue Note, he seemed to appear fully formed from out of nowhere. In the early '60s, a budget LP from the Up Front label had ten obscure selections from the beginning of Smith's career, but failed to give any real information. Now those ten numbers plus six other cuts have been reissued on this historic CD. Recorded most likely during 1953-1954, the performances on this disc comprise Jimmy Smith's earliest recording sessions.

When Jimmy Smith, the most important innovator of organ playing in jazz, recorded for the legendary label Blue Note, at the end of the fifties, at the beginning of the sixties, the music published there was called Jazz'n'Blues. Now, when Lucky Peterson from Buffalo, NY, who meets his father's club, Governor's Inn Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Willie Dixon, and many others, leaves the guitar behind and turns back to the B-3 Hammond organ no less than Jimmy Smith has learned to play, then the Jazz'n'Blues is as its best. The Bluesman, who has lived in Dallas for a quarter of a century now, has a secret love for France, where he is enormously popular. His "Tribute to Jimmy Smith" was recorded in Paris, and another French-American saxophonist Archie Shepp was guest.

On this album, Lucky Peterson pays tribute to his mentor, jazz legend Jimmy Smith. Fittingly, Peterson performs on Smith's favorite instrument, the Hammond B-3 organ. Peterson's style is anchored in blues with the beat of jazz, the groove of rhythm 'n' blues and the energy of rock 'n' roll. For this recording his virtuoso sidemen include guitarist Kelyn Crapp and drummer Herlin Riley.

Jimmy Barnes' 2005 album is called DOUBLE HAPPINESS and and is the most-anticipated Barnes album since his solo debut, BODYSWERVE in 1984. The first release is a limited edition two-CD set featuring duets with: DALLAS CRANE - THE LIVING END - DIESEL - INXS - MICA PARIS - TINA TURNER - JOE COCKER - MAHALIA BARNES - TINA HARROD - ROACHFORD - EJ BARNES - RAHSAAN PATTERSON - JOHN SWAN - ELLY-MAY BARNES - JUANITA TIPPINS GARY PINTO - JOHN FARNHAM - JACKIE BARNES - THE BADLOVES - TROY CASSAR-DALEY - SMOKY DAWSON - TIM ROGERS - BILLY THORPE - DAVID CAMPBELL.

The same formula that made the Fantasy 45 Series perhaps the most successful audiophile reissue collection ever is now being reapplied to Blue Note reissues! Jimmy Smith's April 25, 1960 session with the perfect cast of Stanley Turrentine, Kenny Burrell and Donald Bailey produced these two classic albums that are the pinnacle of the organ-tenor style. A perfect selection of material played at the perfect tempo by great musicians who connect on the deepest, most soulful level. Not a bad day's work. Mastered by Kevin Gray & Steve Hoffman at AcousTech.