Trevor Nelson - 13/05/2009

Trevor's Album Of The Week is 'Gears' by Johnny Hammond. Actually nicknamed after his instrument, Johnny "Hammond" Smith was perhaps one of the more underrated soul-jazz organists of the style's heyday. After moving to Cleveland, Smith heard jazz organ pioneer Wild Bill Davis and decided to switch instruments. He made his professional debut on the organ in 1958, around the same time he was working as an accompanist for vocalist Nancy Wilson. As time passed, Smith's style got progressively funkier, and in 1971, he shortened his name to Johnny Hammond and moved to producer Creed Taylor's CTI label. In 1975, Hammond moved to Milestone and recorded the culmination of his move into jazz-funk, 'Gears', a collaboration with the influential Mizell Brotherrs which was reviled by purists and canonized by acid jazz fans. After a few more sessions for Milestone, Smith largely retired from jazz, settling in Southern California and investing in real estate. He began recording sporadically again in the 90s, but was stricken with cancer and died on June 4, 1997.