''The Sermon!'' is the eleventh studio album by jazz organist Jimmy Smith recorded on August 25, 1957 and February 25, 1958 and released on

Blue Note Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue no ...

in 1959—Smith's fifteenth album for the label.

Background

''The Sermon!'' was the second of two albums recorded on two dates at The Manhattan Towers Hotel Ballroom, the first was Smith's previous album, ''

House Party A house party is a type of party held at the home of the party's host. Organization A house party might be organized several months or just a few hours in advance. News of a party may be spread by personal invitations, word of mouth, pos ...

'' (1958). Rudy Van Gelder used the ballroom as a recording studio for recording sessions in 1957-1958, while he was still using his parents' Hackensack, New Jersey home studio to record artists for

. He mainly used it for larger groups of musicians that would not fit in his parents' living room, or when New York was a more convenient location to record the artists involved. Hammond organ settings used on “The Sermon” • Top Manual (Lead Lines): 888000000 drawbar setting, no percussion, C2 vibrato. The Leslie is set to single speed (no chorale), and the key click and overdrive from the amp are prominent. • Bottom Manual (Walking Bass and Comping): 838000000 drawbar setting. The session for The Sermon was recorded for Blue Note by Rudy Van Gelder, using the typical 1957 technology: tube preamps for warm overdrive, and ribbon microphones likely used for their smooth, natural response. The tube overdrive from the preamps used in the recording of The Sermon contributed a fat, edgy warmth to the sound. Tube preamps are known for adding harmonic distortion, which can round off the harshness of sound while giving it a pleasing richness, a bit of “grit.” When the signal passes through tube preamps, the natural compression and distortion inherent to tubes can introduce harmonic overtones that give the sound a rougher, more textured quality. This “grit” is particularly noticeable on sustained notes or louder passages, where the tubes naturally start to break up and provide a more aggressive, punchy tone. In the case of The Sermon, that grit contributed to the organ’s punch and presence, giving Jimmy Smith’s sound its signature edge and making it feel more alive and raw. This combination of settings and recording technology gave the album its rich, classic sound.

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Lindsay Planer described the album as "a prime example of Smith and company's myriad of talents."

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians

August 25, 1957

* Jimmy Smith – organ *

Lee Morgan Edward Lee Morgan (July 10, 1938 – February 19, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. One of the key hard bop musicians of the 1960s and a cornerstone of the Blue Note Records, Blue Note label, Morgan came to prominence in his la ...

– trumpet *

George Coleman George Edward Coleman (born March 8, 1935) is an American jazz saxophonist known for his work with Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock in the 1960s. In 2015, he was named an NEA Jazz Master. Early life Coleman was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He was ...

– alto saxophone * Eddie McFadden – guitar * Donald Bailey – drums

February 25, 1958

* Jimmy Smith – organ * Lee Morgan – trumpet *

Lou Donaldson Louis Andrew Donaldson Jr. (November 1, 1926 – November 9, 2024) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist. He was best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was he ...

– alto saxophone ("The Sermon") *

Tina Brooks Harold Floyd "Tina" Brooks (June 7, 1932 – August 13, 1974) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and composer best remembered for his work in the hard bop style. Early years Harold Floyd Brooks was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and ...

– tenor saxophone ("The Sermon") *

Kenny Burrell Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige Records, Prestige, Blue Note, Verve Records, Verve, CTI Records, CTI, Muse Records, Muse, and Concord Records, Conco ...

– guitar *

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

– drums

Technical personnel

Alfred Lion Alfred Lion (born Alfred Löw; April 21, 1908 – February 2, 1987) was a German-born American record executive who co-founded the jazz record label Blue Note in 1939. Lion retired in 1967, having sold the company, after producing recordings by le ...

– producer *

Rudy Van Gelder Rudolph Van Gelder (November 2, 1924 – August 25, 2016) was an American recording engineer who specialized in jazz. Over more than half a century, he recorded several thousand sessions, with musicians including Booker Ervin, John Coltrane, Mil ...

– recording engineer *

Reid Miles Reid Miles (July 4, 1927 – February 2, 1993) was an American graphic designer and photographer best known for his work for Blue Note Records in the 1950s and 1960s. Biography Miles was born in Chicago, Illinois, on July 4, 1927, but, follow ...

– design *

Francis Wolff Francis Wolff (April 5, 1907 – March 8, 1971) was a record company executive, photographer and record producer. Wolff's skills, as an executive and a photographer, were important contributions to the success of the Blue Note record label. Car ...

– photography *

Ira Gitler Ira Gitler (December 18, 1928 – February 23, 2019) was an American jazz historian and journalist. The co-author of ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'' with Leonard Feather—the most recent edition appeared in 1999—he wrote hundreds of ...

– liner notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sermon, The 1959 albums Jimmy Smith (musician) albums Blue Note Records albums