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The last week of February in 1958 was a productive one for Jimmy Smith. Over two days the incredible Hammond B3 organist set up shop in Manhattan Towers studio and recorded three albums worth of material: House Party, The Sermon, and Softly As A Summer Breeze, the last of which wouldn’t be released until 1965. The album featured Smith in two different trios: four tracks with Kenny Burrellon guitar and Philly Joe Jones drums, as well as two tracks with Eddie McFadden on guitar and Donald Bailey on drums. The swinging set includes standards (“These Foolish Things” “It Could Happen To You” “Sometimes I’m Happy” “Someone To Watch Over Me”) as well as the Thelonious Monk tune “Hackensack” and Smith’s original “One For Philly Joe.”

This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal. — (via Label)

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Softly as a Summer Breeze is one of Jimmy Smith's more obscure Blue Note dates. The six-song trio program finds the organist joined by either guitarist Kenny Burrell and drummer Philly Joe Jones, or guitarist Eddie McFadden and drummer Donald Bailey. At first glance, the album may look like a ballad-oriented set, but "Hackensack" really cooks, "Sometimes I'm Happy" struts, and "One for Philly Joe" (a familiar but unplaceable melody used for a later pop tune) heats thing up, and the LP has its exciting moments. — (via AllMusic)

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Although released in 1965, the album was compiled from two 1958 trio sessions; on the first four tracks, Smith is supported by the eloquent, ever-tasteful Kenny Burrell and Philly Joe Jones, while the final two cuts feature the equally assured McFadden and Bailey. The opener, a dreamy rendition of the standard ‘These Foolish Things,’ showcases Smith’s ability to transform a slow ballad into a cauldron of bubbling heat ignited by his combustible keyboard runs. Raising the temperature further is a high-octane take on Thelonious Monk’s ‘Hackensack,’ driven by Smith’s pedalled bass line and Jones’s propulsive polyrhythms. The mood shifts to the mellow ‘It Could Happen To You,’ where Burrell’s cool, limpid lines contrast with Smith’s smouldering Hammond, and the cheerfully upbeat ‘Sometimes I’m Happy,’ powered by an irresistible swing groove.

We’ll never know why Softly As A Summer Breeze stayed in the can for seven years, but as discarded sessions go, there are no obvious flaws in the performances and material. All in all, it provides a quintessential example of Jimmy Smith’s virtuosic genius. — (via JazzWise)

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Label: Blue Note
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, 180 gr
Reissued: 2026 / Originally Released: 1965
Genre: Jazz
Style: Soul-Jazz

File under: Blue Note
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