Stanley Turrentine (tenor sax), Kenny Burrell (electric guitar), Jimmy Smith (Hammond B-3 organ) and Donald Bailey (drums). From the album Back at the Chicken Shack (1963).
The Hammond organ was released in 1935 and was maketed in large quantities. It was the first electronic musical instrument that could be played with a keyboard and was also polyphonic. At first it was sold to churches as a less expensive substitute than acoustic pipe organs or instead of a piano. It didn’t have a great impact on the classic blues of the 1940s and 1950s, but it did in other types of music such as soul, rhythm and blues or jazz, where its strength and dynamism made it an indispensable instrument for the musicians of that time.
Hammond B-3
In jazz, the organ, guitar and drums trios appeared that were hired in the clubs because they were much cheaper than having a big band. The use of Jimmy Smith’s Hammond B-3 inspired a whole generation of organists and its use became so popular in the 1960s and 1970s that it was also played in rock, reggae and progressive rock groups.
Organ, guitar and drums trio
The theme is exposed by Smith and Bailey at medium tempo, and then Turrentine enters with a very well-constructed solo introducing quick phrases occasionally into his moderated and accessible discourse. He is followed by Burrell with the sweet sound of his guitar also making a relaxed and delicious solo that sometimes accelerates briefly and at the end more extensively. Afterwards, Smith comes in with a round, delicate sound and stablishing a sympathetic and direct melodic line that lifts your spirits. Then Turrentine reappears to enjoy a little more with an affectionate improvisation directed to a carefree audience. To close, Smith and Bailey re-expose the theme fading out.
© Blue Note Records
