Jimmy Smith Quotes

United States, Musician
December 8, 1925 – February, 8, 2005.

James Oscar Smith was an American jazz musician whose albums often charted on Billboard magazine. He helped popularize the Hammond B-3 organ, creating a link between jazz and 1960s soul music.

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.

Jimmy Smith
- Mad
I just came from Aspen, Colorado and they had fifteen kids I played for and they all played horns.

Jimmy Smith
- Kids

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

Jimmy Smith
- Son
Three months. I was playing the organ for three months. It was a challenge for me in the beginning.

Jimmy Smith
- Beginning
- Challenge
All the colleges I played, most of the colleges, they were white.

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

Jimmy Smith
- Guy
- Lion
Ninety-five percent of my audience was white.

Jimmy Smith
My boys told me they'd rather play than practice.

Jimmy Smith
- Practice

Yeah, you know everybody has somebody that they patterned themselves after.

Jimmy Smith
I did my first recording. It was called The Champ.

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

Jimmy Smith
- Boy
I played with Sam Lay, Jimmy Reed, Big Walter Horton, Big Moose Walker, and all those guys.

Jimmy Smith
People like the idea of the trio and so I did mostly trio.

Jimmy Smith
- People
I always had the facial hair so I looked older than I was.

Jimmy Smith
- Hair

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.

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

Jimmy Smith
- Mom