SIX VIEWS OF THE BLUES is a previously unreleased recording.

Personnel: Jimmy Smith (organ); Cecil Payne (baritone saxophone); Kenny Burrell (guitar); Art Blakey, Donald Bailey (drums).

Producer: Alfred Lion.

Reissue producer: Michael Cuscuna.

Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey on July 16, 1958. Includes liner notes by Michael Cuscuna.

Digitally remastered using 24-bit technology by Ron McMaster.

This is part of Blue Note's Limited Edition Connoisseur Series.

If you are a jazz organ fan and you have never heard of Jimmy Smith's SIX VIEWS OF THE BLUES, don't worry. This 1958 Blue Note session went unreleased for 40 years before reissue king Michael Cuscuna uncovered it. Why this sizzling disc waited so long to see the light of day is a mystery. Smith's powerful blues chops and the collective power of his guests warrant this disc be considered an immediate classic. No less than Cecil Payne, Kenny Burrell, and Art Blakey (also Donald Bailey) join Smith for one of the most down-home swinging blues sessions that Smith ever laid down. Included are the classic "St. Louis Blues," here at a lazy shuffle pace, and "The Swinging Shepherd Blues," which is taken as a light and airy bounce. The focus of the session is the blues tracks numbered 1-4 that range from a crisp jaunt ("No. 1"), a melancholy mope ("No. 3"), a sizzling burner ("No. 4"), and a swinging stomp ("No. 2"). No Smith fan should be without this one. Now that it finally exists, you won't have to.