Cat Strikes Again

Personnel: Jimmy Smith (organ); Lalo Schifrin (conductor); Oscar Brashear (trumpet); Ray Brown (bass); Grady Tate (drums); Paulinho Da Costa (percussion); Jerry Hey.
If George Clinton and Henri Mancini got together for a jam session, it might sound something like THE CAT STRIKES AGAIN. With the help of arranger and conductor Lalo Schifrin, who adds horns and woodwinds to the alternating grind and flow of Smith's ensemble, the record achieves big band-punctuated groovability. By the time of this album's release the organ maestro had moved fully into the realm of richly textured funk and R&B, as evidenced by the limb-popping throwdown of "The Big Brawl," the fat '70s sass of "Free Ride" and even the driving merengue vibe of "Wersi Time."
The slower numbers, like "Down Here On The Ground," are fleshed-out with dramatic orchestrations, with bold horn statements and floating flute lines. While it's true that Smith has abandoned the sound of his traditional combo, what makes this work interesting is that fact that he's taking his music someplace new, combining his keyboard flair with non-traditional instrumentation (including loose, prominent bass lines, an anomaly on a Smith album) for spicy, exciting results.