Jimmy Smith, RIP

Jimmy Smith was the pioneer who demonstrated how the Hammond B-3 organ could be turned into a powerful jazz instrument. He died on Tuesday; the obituaries disagree on whether he was 76 or 79. In any event, he made an indelible impact. The Chicago Tribune’s obituary is good but too brief: “Smith’s B-3 to roar no more.” Supplement it with the Washington Post’s “Jazz musician Jimmy Smith, master organist, dies at 76.” RIP.

The Post’s caption on the photo above reads: “Jimmy Smith was designated a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, the nation’s highest honor in jazz. (1993 Photo Rich Pedroncelli — AP).”