Historic Account Blog of Thursday, 9 February 2023
Source: Ras Tbc Ofoe
James Oscar Smith (Dec 8, 1925 – Feb 8, 2005) was an American jazz musician whose albums often appeared on Billboard magazine charts.
He helped popularize the Hammond B-3 organ, creating a link between jazz and 1960s soul music.
In 2005, Smith was awarded the NEA Jazz Masters Award from the National Endowment for the Arts, the highest honor that America bestows upon jazz musicians.
Photo: from left to right, Grady Tate, George Benson, Jimmy Smith, Ron Carter, and Stanley Turrentine NYC, 1982.
Album cover image for “Off the Top” released in 1982.