Dot Com Blues
Organist Jimmy Smith's Blue Note and Verve back-catalog is the stuff of legend, and the man plays as well onDot Com Bluesas he ever has. But this session is more than another Jimmy Smith album. At times you wonder where Jimmy is among all the accompanying star power, but if you listen, he is still there, rubbing the honeyed keys asB.B. King,Etta James,Dr. John, andKeb Mowail and work it. Smith shows he is still the master of the blueswalk in "8 Counts for Rita," "C.C. Rider," "Tuition Blues," and the title track, as well as on a sumptuously slow version of "Mood Indigo." Here, Smith solos with gritty abandon in a small-group setting with such notables as guitaristRussell Malone, drummer Harvey Mason, and percussionist Lenny Castro. Smith is more often felt than heard elsewhere, though, and maybe that is understandable when Etta James lets rips on a wobbly version of "I Just Wanna Make Love to You." The opening "Only in It for the Money" is better balanced, perhaps because Dr. John understands the value of less-is-more and, as a fellow keyboardist, doesn't want to step on Smith's celebrated toes. Finally, B.B. King helps make "Three O'Clock Blues" a rocking blowout that transports the listener back to some rock & blues tent meeting circa 1956.Dot Com Bluesproves that Jimmy Smith can still raise the rug and do what he does best, star power in attendance or not.--Ken Micallef