Legacy

This album is among the last recordings made before Jimmy Smith died early in 2005. The 79 year old master of the Hammond B-3 organ was brought in by DeFrancesco, more than forty years his junior and responsible for continuing and expanding upon the instrument's place in the jazz tradition. The pair had recorded a live set previously (Incredible!, released in 2000), but with this set DeFrancesco wanted to create a studio album that would celebrate Smith's strengths within a sympathetic setting. The younger organist plays piano on a number of the tracks, but more than half of the disc is devoted to dual Hammond performances. It's a mark of their skills, and the warmth and clarity of the recording, that each of their organs is identifiable throughout. --David Greenberger