I've been searching for either BLP 1584 or 1594 for quite a long time. They seem extremely hard to find. Very rare in other words. Now, at last I've found one of them in good nick. "Smithville" BLP 1594 is the first Louis Smith album to make it into my collection. I'm of course ecstatic to have found one of my most wanted after a long time of searching for a good copy. My copy is in fine condition and it sounds great. Oh, that vintage Blue Note sound. Great cover art as well!
I really like Louis Smith's trumpet playing and the tunes on this album are very enjoyable. Louis Smith only made a handful of albums back in the day, from what I've gathered, before he became a teacher. Four albums for Blue Note, two as a leader (1584 & 1594) and two as a sideman to Kenny Burrell (1596 & 1597). I intend to try and get the 1584 next and then maybe the Burrell albums. 1584 is a must but the others, well.. maybe. Louis Smith is probably quite underrated, at least to me. He plays with a lot of punch and feeling I think. Quite speedy as well. Great trumpeter, and I love trumpet as I've probably mentioned before.
I dig all the tunes a lot. The favorites are maybe "Wetu" and "Embraceable You". The personnel are; Louis Smith (trumpet), Charlie Rouse (tenor sax), Sonny Clark (piano), Paul Chambers (double bass) and Art Taylor (drums). What a great line-up. I haven't listened to Charlie Rouse before from what I can remember. He's a superb tenor saxophonist. Truly great. I need to check out some of his other stuff as well.
BLP 1584 & 1594 have both been on my want list for a long time. I've always loved them. One in the bag, one to go. Stay tuned for more historical artifacts...