There's absolutely no doubt about the importance of Jimmy Smith. The Master. Before him, I recommend Wild Bill Davis (not Davison, who was a great cornet player) who knew how to "orchestrate" the sound of a B3. He's the guy who did the orginal arrangement of "April in Paris" that Basie copped. I finally found some Wild Bill from the 70s.."Impulsions" on Black and Blue and "All Right, OK, You win" on same label. This style of playing is also one of the reasons I like Joey DeFrancesco. He can also do the scrabblin' thing. Check out two of my favs..."Goodfellas" on Concord and "All or Nothing At All" on Big Mo. Wall and Goldings are also great. A little more on the 'purist' side rather than the 'fun' side. Just my 2 cents, of course.
Jazz and the Hammond B
I enjoy Jazz and the Hammond B. Jimmy Smith probably put this combination on the map--but I'm sure there were others, both before and after with creative genius. I'm looking for some recommendations that are excellent both in performance and sonics (be specific about which version to buy if there's more than one). Thanks.