JOHNNY "HAMMOND" SMITH
Soul Flower (Prestige)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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Another installment in the Legends Of Acid Jazz series, Soul Flower is a twofer offering the 1967 release of the same name and the 1968 follow-up, Dirty Grape, on a single disc. It's a healthy portion of organ soul stew, cooked up on Johnny "Hammond" Smith's B-3 and seasoned with ingredients including Houston Person's tenor sax and some outstanding songwriting, as well as guitar picking, by Wally Richardson.

Richardson and Smith's originals are mixed up with soul jazz standards like "I Got A Woman" and "High Heel Sneakers" and (then) contemporary pop, but everything is filtered through a cold beer and soul food atmosphere that manages to funk up even Henry Mancini's "Days Of Wine And Roses." Strongly influenced by Jimmy Smith (few soul jazz organists weren't, really), Johnny Smith's approach isn't particularly original, but his abilities are more than sufficient to produce a highly enjoyable set of performances. Soul Flower might be interchangeable with several albums of its style and period, but it's one of a handful that you'd want to have around when the mood for a change hits.

Track List:

Theme From N.Y.P.D. * Dirty Apple * The Days Of Wine And Roses * Ode To Billie Joe * You'll Never Walk Alone * Alfie * Tara's Theme (My Own True Love) * Here's That Rainy Day * I Got A Woman * Dirty Grape * Animal Farm * Black Strap Molasses * She's Gone Again * Hi Heel Sneakers * To Sir With Love * Love Is A Hurtin' Thing * Please Send Me Someone To Love

© 2000 - Shaun Dale