Organ Jazz, Soul Jazz, And The Black Jazz Record Label

Jimmy Smith, the king of the B-3 Hammond Organ

In 1934, a Chicago clockmaker and inventor named Lauren Hammond filed a patent for "an electrical instrument" that "generated sound by creating an electric current from rotating metal tone wheels near an electromagnetic pickup."

The Hammond Organ was a marvel of 1930s technology, requiring incredibly precise machine work, cutting-edge electronic design, and thousands of man hours to build.  A look at this promotional video will leave you wondering how in the world the thing ever worked.

But clearly it did. Hammond's first commercial organ was called the Model A, and sold for $1993.  The Hammond Company marketed its new instrument to churches and theaters as an economical alternative to a traditional pipe organ, which cost tens of thousands of dollars and took months to build and install.  

However, it wasn't long before dance halls and night clubs figured out that a Hammond Organ with a rhythm section could provide the same room-filling, dynamic sound as a full-blown big band orchestra.  And when Hammond introduced the iconic B-3 organ in 1954, he set in motion a sound revolution that would contribute directly to the creation of several new musical genres, including soul jazz, funk, and soul.

The first true break-out star on the Hammond Organ was Wild Bill Davis, who became famous in the late 1940s as the pianist for the Tympany Five, Louis Jordan's backing band.  Davis left Jordan in 1950 to strike out on his own as a jazz organist.  He formed the Bill Davis Trio in 1951, and the 78 rpm sides he cut for Okeh Records that same year (left) are considered to be the first appearance on disc of a jazz organ trio.

However, Bill Davis is perhaps even more important historically for his influence on the next generation of organ players, especially the undisputed king of the Hammond B-3, Jimmy Smith.  The story goes that after the struggling jazz pianist Smith saw the Bill Davis Trio at a club in Atlantic City in 1953, he was so mesmerized by the sound that he immediately decided to switch instruments and become an organist.  [For more info on Smith, see my earlier post.]  Smith's late 1950s bebop sides on Blue Note and his top-selling soul jazz LPs on Verve in the 1960s cemented the place of the organ in jazz.  Smith's impact on the organ was as profound as that of Charlie Christian on the electric guitar or Charlie Parker on the saxophone.

A legion of younger players were influenced and inspired by Smith, and in the 1960s and 70s they created a golden age of soul jazz, a variation of hard bop that incorporated elements of blues, gospel, and R&B.

I mention all this because lately I've been listening to a ton of terrific soul jazz by Jimmy Smith disciples, including organists Charles Earland, Richard “Groove” Holmes, Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff, Don Patterson, "Big" John Patton, Sonny Phillips, Freddie Roach, Shirley Scott, Johnny “Hammond” Smith, Lonnie Smith, Carl Wilson, and Reuben Wilson.  [I hasten to add that soul jazz was certainly not limited to the organ.  Lots of jazz musicians in the 60s embraced the bluesy, earthy style of soul jazz, including Stanley Turrentine, Cannonball Adderley, Gene Ammons, Grant Green, Lee Morgan, Horace Silver, and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis.  But, as it happens, of late I've been focusing my listening on a lot of ridiculously infectious organ-based soul jazz.]

Despite the evident popularity of soul jazz (Jimmy Smith was the top-selling jazz artist of the 1960s), many critics and mainstream jazz musicians didn't consider the Hammond Organ to be an "authentic" jazz instrument.  And likewise, soul jazz wasn't accepted as "real" jazz by many lovers of traditional bebop.

Part of the reason soul jazz wasn't more accepted and respected is because it was, at least initially, more popular with Black audiences.  Like "Rhythm and Blues," "soul jazz" was a not very subtle code phrase used to describe music made by and for Blacks.  It didn't help matters that in the 1960s there was a stigma attached to soul jazz (not to mention funk) because of its close association with the growing Black Power and Civil Rights movements.

Regardless of the reason, prominent jazz critics and mainstream jazz publications seldom wrote about or reported on performances by soul jazz artists.  To cite just one example, the massive "Collected Works - A Journal Of Jazz 1954-2000" reprints a lifetime of articles and reviews by the New Yorker's  longtime, influential jazz critic, William Balliett.  In the hundreds of different articles contained in his 872-page book, Balliett never mentions any of the jazz organists I named a few paragraphs above.  And even Jimmy Smith is only included in passing in a list of musicians that performed at the Newport Jazz Festival.  Like Balliett, most other mainstream jazz critics didn't take soul jazz seriously either.

Black Jazz Records

All of which, somewhat indirectly, leads to a little-known pianist named Gene Russell and a small but influential music label called Black Jazz.  Born in 1931, Russell studied with the great Hampton Hawes and went on to work with jazz heavyweights such as Zoot Sims, Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and Wardell Gray.  [Fun fact: Russell was a cousin of jazz guitarist Charlie Christian.

However, Russell's solo career never really took off.  His first two albums as a leader, 1966's Taking Care Of Business on the Dot Label, and the 1969 release Up And Away (right) on the Decca label, both disappeared without much of a trace. (The cover photo of the later certainly didn't help.)  

Undaunted, Russell decided to start his own label.  He hooked up with the well-known percussionist, arranger, and technical whiz, Dick Schory, who, in addition to playing in the Chicago Symphony and recording numerous LPs with his "Percussion Pops Orchestra," was also instrumental in the development of Quadraphonic sound technology and RCA's Dynagroove vinyl formulation. 

In 1969, Schory founded his own music label, Ovation Records.  It began with a focus on country and western, but later branched out to include such artists as Count Basie, Joe Morello, Paul Horn, and Willie Dixon.  [Over its 14-year history, Ovation released more than 300 records.]  Although I haven't been able to discover the connection between Schory and Russell, not long after forming Ovation, Schory agreed to finance and distribute Russell's new Black Jazz label as a quasi-independent subsidiary of Ovation.  Russell was given artistic freedom to sign artists, and to produce and engineer Black Jazz releases.  Because of Schory's technical know-how, Black Jazz records benefited from the most cutting edge sound available.  As just one example, nearly all Black Jazz titles were released in both stereo and Quadraphonic versions.

Based in Oakland, CA, Russell's vision for Black Jazz Records was to promote African-American jazz artists and singers, as well as the Black community writ large.  Perhaps partly as a reaction to the snub of soul jazz by mainstream jazz audiences and critics, Russell positioned the label as an alternative to traditional jazz by embracing the breadth of Black jazz artists, including their political and spiritual elements.

Between 1971-75, Black Jazz released 20 albums.  Even though some Black Jazz titles sold well, original copies are almost impossible to come by and eagerly sought by collectors.  Copies in top condition can fetch hundreds of dollars.  Which is why I didn't own any originals and why I was excited when Real Gone Music in Orange, CA decided a couple of years ago to reissue the entire Black Jazz catalog on vinyl.

To date, I've picked up nine of the remastered titles (including the eight above).  All of them are mastered at Well Made Music in Bristol, VA by Clint Holley or Dave Polster, and are pressed by Gotta Groove Records in Cleveland.  The vinyl is flat and quiet, and the discs come in high-end Gotta Groove branded (MoFi style) poly dust sleeves.  Each release includes a glossy one-page insert with new liner notes and a photo.  It's a nicely produced series with replica labels and jackets.  While I've not heard any original pressings, the reissues sound great.  And, most importantly, the music is terrific, funky, soul jazz.  

Perhaps not surprisingly, the first release on the Black Jazz label was a new album by Gene Russell.  One suspects that the title of the album, New Direction, was also a mission statement for Russell.  The album is a collection of standards, played in a toe-tapping jazz style that recalls the piano trios of Ramsey Lewis.  Note that Russell not only plays piano, but also produced and engineered the album.

Later albums from Black Jazz would include mainstream bebop from Walter Bishop Jr., hard bop from Calvin Keys, modal/soul fusion from Doug Carn, jazz funk from Rudolph Johnson, and Isaac Hayes-inspired soul funk from Cleveland Eaton (a former bassist with Count Basie and Ramsey Lewis.)  Eaton's 1975 release (BJ/20, at left), was the last title released by Black Jazz and one of only a couple that didn't sport the uniform cover design shown in the montage above.

All of the nine titles in my collection are well worth having.  If you're interested in sampling some of the Black Jazz releases, don't mess around.  Real Gone Music's web site already lists several of the reissues as sold out.  However, most should be readily available on the secondary market, at least for the time being.

Enjoy the music!