May 26, 2026 11:08 AM
Sonny Rollins Passes Away at 95
Sonny Rollins, the iconic saxophonist, composer and improviser whose career stretched from the origins of bebop to 21st…
Jimmy Smith, who took the organ from novelty status in jazz to primary instrument status, having learned to develop bass lines with his feet, chordal accompaniment and solo lines with his right hand, died Tuesday at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., of natural causes. He was 79.
Born in Norristown, Pa., on Dec. 8, 1925, Smith started out on piano at an early age, taught by his parents as well as self-taught. In 1948, he attended the Hamilton School of Music, and he attended the Ornstein School of Music from 1948-‘50. In 1951, Smith began playing the Hammond organ, subsequently developing a reputation in the Philadelphia area. The year 1956 was a milestone: He was a smash in his debut at New York’s Cafe Bohemia. This was followed by successful appearances at Birdland and the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival, setting the stage for international acclaim as the first jazz organ star of note.
The past 40-plus years, Smith has toured internationally and recorded with many of jazz’s biggest names in a variety of contexts, from trios and quartets on up to large ensembles. Collaborating artists have included Wes Montgomery, Oliver Nelson and Kenny Burrell. When Smith moved Los Angeles, he and his wife, Lola, opened a jazz club, Jimmy Smith’s Jazz Supper Club
Smith’s aggressive style of organ playing is a unique blend of bop with r&b. Recordings include: Off The Top (Elektra, 1982), The Dynamic Duo (with Wes Montgomery, Verve, 1966), The Cat (Verve, 1964), The Unpredictable Jimmy Smith: Bashin’ (Verve, 1962), Midnight Special (Blue Note, 1960) and The Sermon (Blue Note, 1957). DB
Onstage, Rollins would move about restlessly, thrusting his tenor sax in the air as he blew.
May 26, 2026 11:08 AM
Sonny Rollins, the iconic saxophonist, composer and improviser whose career stretched from the origins of bebop to 21st…
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