Hoochie Coochie Man
-Jimmy Smith arr. by Oliver Nelson
One day a band of 25 warriors under one leader set off to a distant land to do battle. This happened on June 14th 1966, when Jimmy Smith and Oliver Nelson’s big band set off to RVG’s (Rudy Van Gelder’s) miracle factory: Englewood Cliffs. There they did battle with old blues standards, turning them into something new and exciting.
Their first battle is with Willie Dixon’s I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man, a classic blues in C. Jimmy Smith’s powerful vocals and Buddy Lucas’ expressive harmonica playing are a strong mix. Jimmy Smith demonstrates his technical command of the Hammond Organ in his amazing solo and Bob Cranshaw (Fender Bass) deserves a mention for his brilliant comping during Jimmy’s solo.
Next up is One Mint Julep, a Rudy Toombs rhythm and blues tune. It starts with a big band intro followed by a grooving straight 8s section but shortly changes into swing. The bluesy tune ends with the #II°7, II-7, I6 (second inversion) “Basie Tag”. This tune reminds me of Boss City on Goin’ Out of My Head – Wes Montgomery (Verve).
Now rounding up side 1 is another blues in C, Ain’t That Just Like A Women. As in track 1, Jimmy and Buddy have a ‘conversation’ between vocals and harmonica. I found Jimmy Smith’s organ solo really captivating and at the end I couldn’t help but play along!
Next up we have the John Lee Hooker standard Boom Boom. I love Oliver Nelson’s interpretation of the opening guitar riff and Jimmy’s cool gospel clichés. Jimmy Smith’s vocals are amazingly ‘worn’ and ‘seasoned’ for a 32 year old. As with all Jimmy’s solos on this album, they rise to a climax and cut back to the head creating a feeling of resolution.
Our penultimate track is Blues And The Abstract Truth. As the title suggests the tune is very abstract but very pleasing to the ear. I find the head more like bebop than blues. The tune switches to swing for the solo. One observation I made was that Jimmy Smith had a talent to create fast, Bud Powell inspired lines. This track sounds a bit like the Wayne Shorter tune Witch Hunt.
Finally we have TNT a catchy tune with a strong rhythm. As it says in the liner notes “TNT is everything the initials imply: highly explosive!” After the solos Jimmy interprets the melody creatively and I also think Bob Cranshaw deserves another recognition for his great comping.
Another thing I would like to mention is the mistake on the album cover where it says “Hoochie Cooche” not “Hoochie Coochie”!
I rate this album 9.5/10, Jimmy Smith’s organ and vocals are exquisite, Oliver Nelson’s arrangements are amazing, Bob Cranshaw’s comping is brilliant and the rest of the band is great.
Jesse Boulting
20/02/2015
http://www.jesseboultingjazz.wordpress.com
I bought this record from Soul Brother Records for only 10£ (15$)!!
http://www.soulbrother.com is one of the few jazz vinyl stores in the UK.
Jesse Boulting Jazz 