WABE’s H. Johnson has been a fixture on our station since 1978. As host of both “Blues Classics” and “Jazz Classics,” H. continually educates and entertains WABE listeners every Friday and Saturday night. Now, H. is adding “City Lights” music contributor to his exceedingly long resumé, and he’ll be joining the show every other Friday to share a bit from his breadth of jazz knowledge. The new segment, “H. Johnson’s Jazz Moment,” explores selections from the best of H.’s music collection along with tidbits from history, personal reflections, and H.’s thoughts on the evergreen resonance of jazz.
In today’s “Jazz Moment,” Johnson shares his admiration for jazz pianist and organist Jimmy Smith. The much-beloved player began his career early and auspiciously in his birthplace of Norrisville, Pennsylvania, where he won an amateur music contest on the radio at the age of nine and soon after began performing in a duo with his father, an entertainer. After service in the Navy, Smith played in Don Gardner and the Sonotones in Philadelphia. Later, Smith started his own jazz trio (which briefly added John Coltrane in 1955) and narrowed his focus exclusively to an electric organ, with a particular affinity for the Hammond organ sound.
Smith’s trio caught fire in New York City and became a mainstay among the Blue Note artists of the jazz scene, such as Art Blakey, Lee Morgan, and Lou Donaldson; Jimmy Smith then joined the Verve label in 1962 and collaborated with Wes Montgomery, Lalo Schifrin, and Kenny Burrell and George Benson among many others.
Jimmy Smith’s style of jazz organ became, and remains, canonical among players. “He replaced the big band-inspired chording and substituted fast-moving bebop lines with a shrill but punchy sound,” said Johnson. “He made sure his articulation was well-defined at all tempos so that the execution and excitement of his concept was clearly communicated to the audience.”
Catch H. Johnson’s Blue Classics every Friday from 10 p.m. to midnight and Jazz Classics every Saturday from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. on WABE 90.1 Atlanta.
