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Jimmy Smith was an American jazz organist known for his pioneering work in the genre of soul jazz. His innovative use of the Hammond B3 organ and influential recordings helped shape the sound of modern jazz. Smith's contributions to jazz music, including his albums "Back at the Chicken Shack" and "The Sermon!" have earned him recognition as a key figure in the development of jazz and soul music.
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"My boys told me they'd rather play than practice."

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"Michael Coleman, now that was a boy that taught me some stuff too."

Now,
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"Three months. I was playing the organ for three months. It was a challenge for me in the beginning."

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"I always had the facial hair so I looked older than I was."

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"My first recording, a guy came down to Philadelphia and heard me play and he introduced me to Alfred Lion."

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"I played with Eddie Taylor's son, Tim Taylor and Carey Bells son Lurie Bell."

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"I heard Mr. Wild Bill Davis. I heard him play in 1930 and he told me that it would take me fifteen years just to learn the pedals, the pedals of the organ and I got mad."

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"I did my first recording. It was called The Champ."

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"And then when I found my sound, it took me two and a half weeks to find my sound and when I did I pulled out all the stops, all the stops I could find."

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"My mom would have liked it that I patterned myself more after Jimmy Reed."

Mom,
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"People like the idea of the trio and so I did mostly trio."

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"I just came from Aspen, Colorado and they had fifteen kids I played for and they all played horns."

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