Milestone Profiles: Jimmy Smith

Jimmy Smith was under contract to Milestone for only a few years, fairly late in his long and storied career. Since the label was purchased by the Concord conglomerate in 2005, Milestone now seems to want to catch up with "best-of" compilations released by other heavy players from the '50s and '60s. The vast majority of the music on this volume in the Milestone Profiles series is compiled from albums Smith recorded between 1989 and 1993. Apparently Smith's contract wasn't exclusive, since there are many other titles of new music issued in Europe or Japan. There is one exception, though, and a fine one. Included in this nine-cut set is a version of "The Sermon" with Eddie Harris from 1981, taken from an album called All the Way Live. Apparently — and astonishingly — this was the only time the two ever played together, and it's the best thing here despite some flaws in the actual recording. The rest is a collection of mild swingers, blues, and standards like "Midnight Special" with Stanley Turrentine from the Fourmost album in 1989 — Kenny Burrell and Grady Tate were the other players on the session. And there are three other cuts taken from either this date or the Fourmost Return disc that was also issued in 1990, recorded a day after the first. "C Jam Blues," with Terry Evans playing guitar, is another high point here, from 1989's Prime Time. The music throughout is certainly of high quality and would give a novice Smith listener a fine portrait of his mastery as an organist. The earlier Blue Note titles offer a more exciting and energetic look, but this is a good piece to add to a collection showcasing Smith at the top of his form. [There is a bonus disc included in the package that features cuts from the other volumes in the Profiles series.]