jimmy smith
James Oscar Smith (December 8, 1928 – February 8, 2005) was an American jazz musician whose albums often appeared on Billboard magazine charts. He helped popularize the Hammond B-3 organ, creating a link between jazz and 1960s soul music.
In 2005, Smith was awarded the NEA Jazz Masters Award from the National Endowment for the Arts, the highest honor that America bestows upon jazz musicians.
![American jazz musician Jimmy Smith (1925 - 2005) at the Hammond B-3 organ performing on BBC Jazz 625 series, London, UK, 1964. (Photo by David Redfern/Redferns/Getty Images)](https://heroesofjazz.com/wp-content/uploads/cache/2023/08/Jimmy-Smith-77553303/1589310743.jpg)
American jazz musician Jimmy Smith (1925 - 2005) at the Hammond B-3 organ performing on BBC Jazz 625 series, London, UK, 1964. (Photo by David Redfern/Redferns/Getty Images)
![Mandatory Credit: Photo by Rich Pedroncelli/AP/Shutterstock (6565253a)
Jimmy Smith Jazz musician Jimmy Smith plays the organ at his home studio in Sacramento, Calif., . Smith, 64, has been named DownBeat magazine's top jazz organist since the category was created in 1964
Music Jimmy Smith, Sacramento, USA](https://heroesofjazz.com/wp-content/uploads/cache/2023/08/Jimmy-Smith-77553309/3792223889.jpg)
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Rich Pedroncelli/AP/Shutterstock (6565253a)
Jimmy Smith Jazz musician Jimmy Smith plays the organ at his home studio in Sacramento, Calif., . Smith, 64, has been named DownBeat magazine's top jazz organist since the category was created in 1964
Music Jimmy Smith, Sacramento, USA