Jimmy Smith at the Organ (1957 albums)

This article is about the 1957 series of albums. For the unrelated 1956 album, see Jimmy Smith at the Organ (1956 album).

Jimmy Smith at the Organ, Vols. 1 & 2 are a pair of separate but related albums by American jazz organist Jimmy Smith, recorded over February 12–13, 1957 and released on Blue Note in 1957 and 1958 respectively.^[1]

Jimmy Smith at the Organ
Volume 1
Studio album by Jimmy Smith
Released	1957
Recorded	February 12–13, 1957
Studio	Manhattan Towers, NYC
Genre	Hard bop
Label	Blue Note BLP 1551 (Vol. 1) BLP 1552 (Vol. 2)
Producer	Alfred Lion
Jimmy Smith chronology
A Date with Jimmy Smith (1957) Jimmy Smith at the Organ (1957) The Sounds of Jimmy Smith (1957)
Jimmy Smith at the Organ
Volume 2

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic (Vol. 1)	[2]
AllMusic (Vol. 2)	[3]
Billboard (Vol. 1)	[4]

Billboard magazine gave Volume 1 three-out-of-four stars, stating that "Smith reiterates his ability to make the organ a functional, jazz instrument", and praising Smith's, Donaldson's, and Burrell's solos.^[4]

AllMusic jazz critic Scott Yanow says, "There is a fair amount of variety on this jam session LP. ... The music will be enjoyed by bop fans even though nothing all that essential occurs."^[2] and "Excellent bop-oriented jam sessions."^[3]

The JazzTimes review states: "Smith's 10-minute face-off with Blakey on 'The Duel' reaches some outré peaks, while the great organist's duet with Donaldson on 'Summertime' is a marvel of melodic improvisation."^[5]

Track listing

Jimmy Smith at the Organ, Volume 1

Sources:^[6][7]

Side 1

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Date recorded	Length
1.	"Summertime"	George Gershwin	February 12, 1957	4:34
2.	"There's a Small Hotel"	Richard Rodgers Lorenz Hart	February 12, 1957	11:53

Side 2

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Date recorded	Length
1.	"All Day Long"	Kenny Burrell	February 12, 1957	10:30
2.	"Yardbird Suite"	Charlie Parker	February 12, 1957	8:56

Jimmy Smith at the Organ, Volume 2

Sources:^[8][9]

All tracks are written by Jimmy Smith, except as noted.

Side 1

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Date recorded	Length
1.	"Plum Nellie"		February 13, 1957	7:40
2.	"Billie's Bounce"	Charlie Parker	February 12, 1957	8:23

Side 2

No.	Title	Date recorded	Length
1.	"The Duel"	February 12, 1957	10:27
2.	"Buns a Plenty"	February 13, 1957	6:59

Personnel

Musicians

February 12, 1957

• Jimmy Smith – organ
• Lou Donaldson – alto saxophone (except "There's a Small Hotel", "The Duel")
• Kenny Burrell – guitar (except "Summertime", "The Duel")
• Art Blakey – drums (except "Summertime")

February 13, 1957

• Jimmy Smith – organ
• Lou Donaldson – alto saxophone (except "Buns a Plenty")
• Eddie McFadden – guitar
• Donald Bailey – drums

Technical personnel

• Alfred Lion – producer
• Rudy Van Gelder – recording engineer
• Reid Miles – design
• Francis Wolff – photography
• Robert Levin – liner notes