Born in Norristown, Pennsylvania in 1928, Jimmy Smith began playing piano at an early age, performing with his father in a dance band. He quit school after seventh grade and enrolled himself in Ornstein's School of Music where his musical talent became very apparent (though he could not read music at first he got through by playing all the music by ear). Jimmy made his musical debut in 1951 with the Don Gardner's Sonotones but it wasn't until the release of the Hammond B-3 organ that Jimmy Smith started his solo career and quickly became known as the "Master of the B-3". His tasteful jazz impr ...read more
Born in Norristown, Pennsylvania in 1928, Jimmy Smith began playing piano at an early age, performing with his father in a dance band. He quit school after seventh grade and enrolled himself in Ornstein's School of Music where his musical talent became very apparent (though he could not read music at first he got through by playing all the music by ear). Jimmy made his musical debut in 1951 with the Don Gardner's Sonotones but it wasn't until the release of the Hammond B-3 organ that Jimmy Smith started his solo career and quickly became known as the "Master of the B-3". His tasteful jazz improvisation and complex playing style revived the era of jazz organ, and pioneered into early jazz fusion territory. Fans of Wojciech Karolak and John Medeski will especially take a liking to Jimmy's refined and innovative jazz organ playing, as well as the general fusion/funk jazz listener and those just starting to get into the jazz scene. « hide
