I stumbled upon this incredible 1982 bootleg recording of Johnny Smith while scrolling through the Vintage Music Experience channel (more on it later). While the name on the image says "Johnny Smith Trio," it's really a misnomer. While some songs feature a trio, others include an unnamed pianist (maybe Neil Bridge, his usual pianist at the time); on two tracks only, he's joined by Bobby Shew (trumpet) and Don Menza (tenor). Johnny's playing is really together here, very similar to the two JS Foursome recordings he did for Roost before he left NYC.
Songs include: "Send in the Clowns," "Have You Met Miss Jones," "Indian Summer," "People Will Say We're In Love," "ATTYA," and "This Can't Be Love." A few are unnamed in the description, but one is "Struttin' with Some BBQ," and another is "Rose Room". I was really interested in what he would do with Miss Jones, because that is one of my favorites from his early Roost era, and it doesn't disappoint.
I said there would be more about the Vintage Music Experience. This channel has over 2,000 "videos" (they are not videos, but recordings). Of interest to this group would be the following:
- Pat Martino 19 video playlist from the early 1970s to the 2000s (including a set I attended at the Dakota in St. Paul):
- Tal Farlow, 7 videos from the early 1980s, including one with Eddie Diehl:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj-TA93uNPoXZmjBdKiaOn_Lq9oU1aCPd&si=5WaRqy1Bf5srVw_f
- Emily Remler, 10 videos from the 1980s:
- George Van Eps and Tony Rizzi at Fat Tuesday's in New York, 1984:
There are others, too, including a Jimmy Raney/Attila Zoller set, as well as Kenny Burrell, Jim Hall, Larry Coryell, Herb Ellis and Mundell Lowe.
I'll let you have fun scrolling through the channel.
Enjoy!
John Galich
A very special NGD: a custom build that brought my ideas to life.
Today, 06:11 PM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos