JAZZ REVIEW : Organ Summit an Uphill Struggle

The prospect of Sunday’s “Organ Summit” at the Biltmore Bowl, which featured jazz greats Jimmy McGriff and Jimmy Smith, augered well.

Too bad it didn’t happen. At least, not until the very last tune, more than three hours into the show, when McGriff and Smith interacted at their Hammond B3s for a round of improvisation.

Both men led quartets that were strong in solo power. McGriff started with a set marked by his own consistently inspired work; a piquant touch was added when he used his right hand to play a piano while supplying rhythmic punctuations on the Hammond.

Bill Easley, on alto and soprano sax, was the surprise of the evening. He brought a pure sound to both horns along with a mainstream-to-bop style that never wanted for conviction.

The McGriff set ran 90 minutes, while the interest and the applause level wore thin. Three of the last four numbers were blues--a clear case of too much of a good thing.

This was even more conspicuous during Smith’s set. He played 11 tunes, of which nine were blues-based. He was backed by the splendid drummer Michael Baker, and broke up the set with three swaggering blues vocals by Barbara Morrison.

At the end of the evening, McGriff’s band came back to join Smith’s, and for 12 minutes they played--the blues. If they work together again, they would do well to plan some true collaborations.