Soul-Jazz

Soul jazz on vinyl: Hammond organ, groove and gospel

In short: Soul jazz is jazz that makes you move: blues, gospel and catchy grooves, often with the Hammond organ at the centre. Jimmy Smith, Brother Jack McDuff, Shirley Scott, Stanley Turrentine and the Ramsey Lewis Trio made it popular in the sixties. The Vinyl Room currently has 392 soul jazz records.

What is soul jazz?

Soul jazz grew out of hard bop at the end of the fifties. Typical is the organ trio with Hammond B-3, guitar and drums, often joined by a tenor saxophone. Jimmy Smith first recorded for Blue Note, later for Verve; Jimmy McGriff, Richard “Groove” Holmes and Shirley Scott followed. On piano, Les McCann and Ramsey Lewis took the groove into the charts – Ramsey Lewis’ “The ‘In’ Crowd” became a hit in 1965. Many of these records were later sampled in hip hop, which is why DJs look for them today too.

What to look for

Soul jazz originals from the sixties mostly come from the US, among others from Blue Note, Prestige and Argo/Cadet. There are also many UK editions and new records, because the style is still alive today. Label, catalogue number and runout together tell you whether you have an original – more on our page “How to spot a first pressing”.

From our stock

Soul jazz on Blue Note

First pressings

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→ Jazz on vinyl · Funk & soul on vinyl · Blue Note · How to spot a first pressing · Grading explained

FAQ

What is soul jazz? Jazz with lots of blues, gospel and groove, often with Hammond organ – it grew out of hard bop at the end of the fifties.

Who are the most important soul jazz musicians? Among others Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff, Brother Jack McDuff, Shirley Scott, Stanley Turrentine and the Ramsey Lewis Trio.

Why do DJs look for soul jazz records? Because many grooves and breaks from them were sampled in hip hop.