Breakout Johnny Hammond Smith Artist

So this is what {|CTI|} was all about. Recorded in 1971, organist {|Johnny Hammond|}'s debut for {|CTI|} is a blessed-out basket of {|blues|} and groove that covers some of the hot tunes of the day and some organ classics with enough {|soul|} power t... Read more

So this is what {|CTI|} was all about. Recorded in 1971, organist {|Johnny Hammond|}'s debut for {|CTI|} is a blessed-out basket of {|blues|} and groove that covers some of the hot tunes of the day and some organ classics with enough {|soul|} power to melt the ice around the heart of even the staunchest {|jazz|} purist, who turned up his stuffed-up nose. First there's the lineup: {|Hammond|} with {|Hank Crawford|} and {|Grover Washington, Jr.|}, {|Eric Gale|}, {|Airto|}, {|Billy Cobham|}, {|Danny Moore|}, and bassist {|Johnny Williams|}. It drips {|soul|} and popping riffs. Next there's the material: the 11-minute wade-in-the-swamp version of {|Carole King|}'s {|It's Too Late|} with a stunning arrangement by {|Grover|} and a killer guitar break by {|Gale|}. (There is, on the reissue, a stunning live rendition of the track with {|George Benson|} subbing for {|Gale|}, {|Freddie Hubbard|}, and {|Stanley Turrentine|} in for {|Washington|}. It's longer, seemingly leaner, and quicker. It's a {|soul|}-deep river of good feel and slippery vamps.) Next is a bright, sunny, and shimmering version of {|Neil Sedaka|}'s {|Workin' on a Groovy Thing,|} with {|Hammond|}'s organ doubling the interval up yet keeping the melody at an even flow. The horn section and {|Airto|}'s accents literally pop in the middle of the tune, breaking the bridge down into a series of screaming grooves in counterpoint to the organ. The wildest organ workout is {|Leo Johnson|}'s {|Blue Selah.|} Rich in arpeggios and counterpoint by {|Gale|}, the legato is turned up to ten and {|Hammond|} never passes over a note -- he rings them all inside, outside, and punches them all up with frighteningly large right-handed chords. The final track on the original is {|Jimmy Smith|}'s {|Breakout,|} a driving, funky {|blues|} that feels more like {|Tony Joe White|} jamming with {|Jack McDuff|} than a {|Creed Taylor|} percussion. {|Cobham|} pushes his kit into overdrive and {|Hammond|} rises to the challenge as {|Gale|} plays one ostinato {|funk|} riff after another and the bass holds the groove static. By the time we reach the dueling saxophone solos, we've been through {|James Brown|} territory as well, on the good foot and in the deep well of greasy-assed {|funk|} and roll. This is a smoking album that runs the gamut of {|soul-jazz|} to hard {|funk|} and {|R&B|} seamlessly, but sweatily. ~ Thom Jurek Less