Jimmy Smith - Hobo Flats
Jimmy Smith, the man who rewrote jazz around the Hammond B-3, steps up from trio to big band for Hobo Flats - nine musicians strong, blues-soaked, and roadworthy. Recorded in January 1963 at Englewood Cliffs, this is the organ master at the perfect crossroads: carrying the grit of his classic soul-jazz dates while reaching toward the larger orchestrations that would define his next chapter.
The title groove paints a portrait of a wanderer riding the rails - lonesome, restless, grinning through it all. Backed by a killer ensemble (Benny Golson, George Coleman, Jimmy Heath, Julius Watkins) and smart charts from Quincy Jones and Oliver Nelson, Smith leads with his signature growl, turning a Bach prelude into a smoky soul meditation and an old spiritual into something purely alive.
It's a record about the groove itself. Give Smith a trio or give him nine pieces - he finds the swing, rides it, and makes you believe it was always meant to be played this way.
Artist(s): Jimmy Smith (Hammond B-3)
George Coleman, Benny Golson (tenor sax)
Jimmy Heath (baritone sax)
Julius Watkins (French horn) plus brass and rhythm
Arrangements by Quincy Jones and Oliver Nelson.
Recording Info: Engineer – Bob Simpson, Ray Hall
Engineer [Director Of Engineering] – Val Valentin
Producer – Creed Taylor
Sourced from a 15-ips tape
Components used for Transfer:
This transfer leverages precision analogue playback and mastering-grade digital conversion. The signal path begins with a modified Studer A810 with Flux Heads, fed through a Merrill Audio Master MX Tape Head Preamp. The analogue signal is converted via a Merging Hapi converter, synchronised to an Antelope Audio 10MX atomic clock for temporal accuracy. All components receive isolated power conditioning through a Shunyata Research Everest 8000 with Shunyata Sigma-X power cords, while grounding infrastructure utilises Shunyata ALTAIRA hubs to minimise noise floor and preserve sonic detail throughout the transfer chain.
1 Hobo Flats 4:45
2 Blueberry Hill 4:57
3 Walk Right In 3:32
4 Trouble In Mind 4:22
5 The Preacher 6:17
6 Meditation 3:07
7 I Can't Stop Loving You 4:32
Please Note: This release was edited in DXD PCM from a DSD256 Master, then the DXD edited master was used to generate the final DSD files using Merging Technologies Album Publishing.
DXD (352.8KHz 24/32 bit PCM) is one of the best and least destructive formats for post-processing DSD originated digital recordings.
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