JOHNNY "HAMMOND" SMITH
Open House (Milestone)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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This CD collects two of the albums Johnny "Hammond" Smith recorded for Riverside in the early sixties, Open House and A Little Taste. The first occupies the first seven tracks, and finds Smith in front of a septet. It's primarily notable for Thad Jones trumpet work and a very fine outing by the under-rated guitarist Eddie McFadden.

The remaining cuts are from A Little Taste and find Smith leading a quartet that includes Virgil Jones on trumpet, Houston Person on tenor and drummer Luis Taylor. In the absence of bass, Smith gets his feet pumping on the pedals, which seems to invigorate his work on the keyboard, as well. The material, Smith originals spiced with Horace Silver's "Nica's Dream" and the Adderly brothers title cut, is somewhat more adventurous, too.

There's nothing wrong with any of the music on this disc, and it's addition to the Johnny "Hammond" Smith catalog is welcome, but I tend to think of the opening cuts as the bonus tracks on an album that really starts to cook at track 8. Still, it's more music from a capable and often overlooked jazzman, and that's a good thing.

Track List:

Open House * Cyra * I Remember You * Theme From Cleopatra * Blues For De-De * Why Was I Born? * I Love You * Nica's Dream * Cleopatra And The African Knight * Bennie's Diggin' * Brake Through * Eloise * A Little Taste * Twixt The SheetsJ

© 2001 - Shaun Dale