Jimmy Smith: Softly As A Summer Breeze (180 g) (LP)

One might almost think that Jimmy Smith wanted to prove his versatility at all costs when, in February 1958, he and his entourage moved into the ballroom of the Manhattan Tower Hotel, which Rudy Van Gelder had converted into a recording studio. Within two days, the master of the Hammond B3 organ recorded three very different albums there. On February 25, he first recorded with a sextet packed with Blue Note stars for the exuberant album *House Party* and the more bluesy, contemplative *The Sermon*. The following day, he set to work again with two different classic organ trio lineups to record “Softly as a Summer Breeze”—a lively album featuring partly ballad-like standards, a cool, groovy original composition, and a piece by Thelonious Monk. Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition: Stereo, mastered by Kevin Gray, pressed by Optimal on 180g vinyl, in a single sleeve