Jimmy Smith’s ‘House Party’ To Receive Blue Note Reissue
The release is the latest entry in Blue Note Records’ Classic Vinyl series.
Blue Note Records has set their Classic Vinyl Series picks for December 2025, and one of the two releases will be Jimmy Smith’s House Party. Originally released in the late 1950s, House Party sees the jazz organist lead an all-star cast of musicians. Blue Note’s House Party vinyl release is scheduled for December 12.
This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.
On House Party, Smith powerfully commands his famous Hammond B3 through a freewheeling session that touches on bebop, blues, and standards. He is joined by Lee Morgan (trumpet) Curtis Fuller (trombone), Lou Donaldson and George Coleman (alto sax), Tina Brooks (tenor sax), Kenny Burrell and Eddie McFadden (guitar), and Art Blakey and Donald Bailey (drums).
“The title of this set, House Party, is an accurate description of the informal, ‘sitting-in’ atmosphere which prevails,” wrote Robert Levin in the original liner notes. He continued, saying that Smith’s “seemingly inexhaustible rhythmic energy, combined with the intrinsic power of the organ itself, provides a consistently forceful and inspiring foundation that, in turn, could not help but provoke equally inspiring solos.”
Smith followed up House Party with The Sermon! Released in 1959, the album was drawn from two separate sessions recorded on August 25, 1957, and February 25, 1958, respectively. The Sermon! was Smith’s 15th Blue Note release.
Smith got his first B3 in 1953, just a few years before the impressive performance on House Party. He quickly devised ways to navigate the complex machine: “When I finally got enough money for a down payment on my own organ I put it in a warehouse and took a big sheet of paper and drew a floor plan of the pedals. Anytime I wanted to gauge the spaces and where to drop my foot down on which pedal, I’d look at the chart. Sometimes I would stay there four hours or maybe all day long if I’d luck up on something and get some new ideas using different stops.”
