The Sermon (Jimmy Smith album)

The Sermon! is an album by jazz organist Jimmy Smith.[3][4][5] It was produced by the Blue Note record label, and was Smith's fifteenth album in three years. AllMusic's Lindsay Planer described the album as "a prime example of Smith and company's myriad of talents."[6]

The Sermon!
Studio album by Jimmy Smith
Released	December 1959
Recorded	August 25, 1957 & February 25, 1958
Studio	Manhattan Towers, New York City
Genre	Jazz
Length	40:10
Label	Blue Note BST 84011
Producer	Alfred Lion[1]
Jimmy Smith chronology
House Party (1957–58) The Sermon! (1959) Crazy! Baby (1959)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]

Background

The Sermon was the second of two albums recorded on two dates at The Manhattan Towers Hotel Ballroom, the first was Smith's previous album, House Party (1958). Rudy Van Gelder used the ballroom as a recording studio for recording sessions in 1957-1958, while he was still using his parents' Hackensack, New Jersey, home studio to record artists for Blue Note. He mainly used it for larger groups of musicians that would not fit in his parents' living room, or when New York was a more convenient location to record the artists involved.

Track listing

1. "The Sermon" (Jimmy Smith) – 20:12
2. "J.O.S." (Smith) – 11:56
3. "Flamingo" (Edmund Anderson, Ted Grouya) – 8:02

Recorded on August 25, 1957 (#2) and February 25, 1958 (#1, 3).

Personnel

Musicians

Track 1

• Jimmy Smith – organ
• Lee Morgan – trumpet
• Lou Donaldson – alto saxophone
• Tina Brooks – tenor saxophone
• Kenny Burrell – guitar
• Art Blakey – drums

Track 2

• Jimmy Smith – organ
• Lee Morgan – trumpet
• George Coleman – alto saxophone
• Eddie McFadden – guitar
• Donald Bailey – drums

Track 3

• Jimmy Smith – organ
• Lee Morgan – trumpet
• Kenny Burrell – guitar
• Art Blakey – drums

Technical

• Alfred Lion – producer
• Rudy Van Gelder – engineer
• Reid Miles – design
• Francis Wolff – photography
• Ira Gitler – liner notes

References

1. Gauvreau, Mark (2000-10-04). "Jimmy Smith's Storied Jazz 'Sermon'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
2. Allmusic review
3. Sullivan, Steve (17 May 2017). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings - Steve Sullivan - Google Books. ISBN 9781442254497. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
4. "Pop Jazz; Jimmy Smith, Artist Of The Jazz Organ, Plays Fat Tuesday'S - The New York Times". Nytimes.com. 1981-09-11. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
5. "Jimmy Smith: 'The Sermon'". NPR. 2001-08-01. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
6. Planer, Lindsay. "The Sermon!". Allmusic. Retrieved 3 July 2010.