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Genre ~ Hard-Bop, Soul | Label ~ Verve
Damn! marked Jimmy Smith's return to the Verve label after an absence of 20-plus years (he originally recorded for the label from 1963 to 1972), and paired with a group of young and sympathetic jazz players that includes Roy Hargrove and Nicholas Payton on trumpet and Ron Blake and Mark Tuner on sax, he sounds invigorated here, striding across the Hammond B-3 keys with definite energy. The whole album, start to finish, works a wonderful groove, but versions here of James Brown's "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man," and Charlie Parker's "Scrapple from the Apple" are particularly strong. Smith was arguably at his best in stripped-down trios, and his work for Blue Note between 1956 and 1960 will always be the quality reference point for his extensive canon, but Damn! is right up there with his best work, full of a joyous energy, and it sparked a resurgence of sorts for Smith. ~Allmusic
Tracklist:
01. Papa's Got a Brand New Bag (7:37)
02. Sister Sadie (7:01)
03. Woody 'n' You (6:20)
04. The One Before This (6:57)
05. Watermelon Man (7:57)
06. This Here (7:36)
07. Scrapple from the Apple (5:28)
08. Hi-Fly (6:31)
09. A La Mode (6:24)
Personnel:
Jimmy Smith - organ
Nicholas Payton, Roy Hargrove - trumpet
Abraham Burton - alto sax
Ron Blake, Tim Warfield - tenor sax
Mark Whitfield - guitar
Christian McBride - bass
Art Taylor, Bernard Purdie - drums
Produced by Richard Seidel and Don Sickler
Executive Producer: Lola Smith
Recorded and mixed by Jim Anderson, assisted by Scott Austin (record) and Chris Albert (mix)
Recorded January 24 and 25, 1995; at Power Station, New York
Mixed at Power Station, New York
Mastered by Allan Tucker at Foothill Digital, New York
Production Coordinator: Camille Tominaro
Release Coordination by Nate Herr, assisted by Rudi Mallasch
Art Direction and Design: David Lau
Photographs by James Minchln
Recording session photography by Jimmy Katz/Giant Steps
Liner notes by Richard Seidel
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