Jimmy Smith - Crazy! Baby (1960)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 1989 re-release with 2 bonus tracks.

While I'm a big fan of The Incredible Jimmy Smith, I have to admit this simply isn't one of his better releases. Too many average-at-best arrangements of pop covers and only one Smith original. I hate to say this trio was phoning it in after a long weekend of New Year's gigs, but it sure sounds that way to me. However, I will give special mention to guitarist Quentin Warren whose soloing is quite good on several cuts.

Recorded Monday, January 4, 1960 at the infamous Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

Original album liner notes by Leonard Feather.

Smith - organ
Quentin Warren - guitar
Donald Bailey - drums

Reviews/ratings:

• CashBox: "One of the few organists who can really swing the thing"
• Billboard (★★★★): "Smith again comes thru"
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★½ "discouragingly rational"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks:

Both Makin' Whoopee and Mack The Knife were released as singles, but my top pick today is Sonnymoon For Two.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:

The Best of Jimmy Smith (1988)	Midnight Special (1961)
Keep On Comin' (1983)	Houseparty (1958)
Back At The Chicken Shack (1963)	The Sermon! (1958)
Home Cookin' (1961)

Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain (1960)

GEOGRAPHY WEEK (JANUARY 8-14, 2012)

I fully acknowledge Miles Davis as a musical genius and his playing here is spectacular, but I just don't listen to Sketches Of Spain as much as I probably should. I'm a fan, but I have to be in exactly the right frame of mind to listen to it properly. And even then, it must be listened to at a relatively loud volume with headphones in order to catch all the subtle nuances. A modern masterpiece, it has placed on many top album of all time lists since its release. Groundbreaking stuff, typical Miles.

Ratings/reviews:

• Stereo Review: "This is one of the very best jazz albums of recent years."
• High Fidelity: "Davis' playing is more consistently to the point than on any of his earlier discs."
• Billboard: "Davis plays with his usual aplomb and the backings are a gas."
• CashBox: "A great LP"
• DownBeat (★★★★★): "This record is one of the most important musical triumphs that this century has yet produced."
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★½

Update: In 2017, it was ranked at #43 on Pitchfork's list of the 200 Best Albums of the 1960s.

Tracks: Concierto De Aranjuez is my favorite track with Will O' The Wisp a close second.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I remember buying this at a Plano-area CD store around 1990 and thinking how hip I was for buying Miles Davis instead of Wilson Phillips.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Panthalassa: The Remixes (1999)
This Is Jazz, Vol. 8: Miles Davis Acoustic (1996)
Live Around The World (1996)
Music from Siesta (1987)
Miles Davis at Carnegie Hall (1962)
Milestones (1958)