I was in Vietnam 1966-67. One day a new guy from Detroit arrived and he brought a battery-operated 45 rpm record player from home. But he only had one record with him,
“Bumpin’ On Sunset” by Wes Montgomery. He played it a thousand times and I don’t even remember what the flip side was. Anyway, that was my intro to jazz. When I got state-side I bought the album “Tequila” with “Bumpin’ On Sunset” on it and then …. and then …. and then …
“Along Came Jones”? No, but a whole lot of jazz albums began to pile up in my collection. I had only one album by John Coltrane but he was too much for me. I got lost after the first two notes.
If I were to close my eyes and click on your Charles Earland link I would swear it’s Jimmy Smith with that Hammond! I had every one of those Jimmy Smith albums you mention. I can probably whistle every note of them to this day. But maybe my favourite is this one:
…. or this one together with Wes Montgomery:
I never met Jimmy Smith but I did see him in a clothing shop in Chicago about 1973.
My favourite McCoy Tyner is this one:
I know what you mean! Are you free Saturday night?