Would you like some Hammond B-3 with your Coffee?

Larry Young has always been overshadowed by the legendary Jimmy Smith. For those of you who are unfamiliar with either Smith or Young, they are at the top of the heap, when it comes to jazz on the Hammond B-3 organ. While Jimmy Smith's sound is drenched in the blues, Larry Young is more avant garde. His sound is strongly influenced by John Coltrane and you can clearly hear it in his solos. This particular album, Unity, is definitely his most famous, yet a lot of jazz fans are not familiar with Larry Young. I think you should give this album a listen. The musicians on Unity are stellar. They include Joe Henderson on sax, Elvin Jones on drums, and Woody Shaw on trumpet. For those of you who say you don't like jazz, he also worked in the rock arena, having recorded with Jimi Hendrix. Standout tracks include "Zoltan," with great trumpet work by Woody Shaw and "Beyond All Limits," which features Young's Coltrane like Hammond B-3 solos, and Henderson's sax work. The whole album is one of my favorites. Click here to listen.