Jimmy Smith died last month. You probably didn't notice.

With the exception of a few observant Beastie Boys fans that might have read the jazz organist's name credited with providing one of the samples on Ill Communication, it doesn't seem like many young music buffs noticed, either. Understandable, perhaps; most of the "jazz dinosaurs" that are still around haven't done anything noteworthy for decades, and finding the good stuff takes active and curious searching through hundreds of old records.

But in 1994, someone in the B-Boys camp did just that -- and managed to turn a somewhat forgotten Jimmy Smith song into a sweet, refreshing loop for "Root Down." The result was a revival for the brilliant keyboardist, an introduction for all young jazz musicians that ever wondered where the John Medeskis or Joey DeFrancescos came from. And even though he released an uncountable number of albums in his almost five-decade career, Smith's Root Down album, reissued in 2000, has preserved his talent for the new jazz audience.

From fast-paced soloing to solid comping, even down to a tendency to use his feet to manipulate the keyboard's bass pedals, Smith exercised total control over his Hammond organ. I once attended a jazz seminar featuring contemporary organist Larry Goldings, who joked that Smith was so good he could play chords with his feet. That exaggeration is probably true to some extent, but on Root Down, Smith's most impressive control is over his almost entirely anonymous band. Arthur Adams, Wilton Felder and Paul Humphrey aren't exactly household names, but this is a group that could groove with the best of them, and it proves it with this album's seven intense jams.

From the first wah-wah-soaked guitar chords of "Sagg Shootin' His Arrow" to the last downbeat in the album-closing alternate take of the title track, this is a disc that doesn't stop. As far as tight, toe-tapping grooves go, this is the definitive recording. But Smith and company's true genius is their ability to master different levels of intensity in different styles. The songs run the gamut from fast funk to bad-ass blues to slow soul and they're all gripping, though some burst with passion as soon as they begin, such as "Slow Down Sagg" and, of course, the always prominent title track. Along with "Sagg Shootin' His Arrow," those songs form a trilogy of funky blues compositions with unexpected turnarounds that make them more remarkable and exciting than the average 16-bar tune.

The smokin' group settles things down but keeps the atmosphere cloudy on "After Hours," the closest thing to traditional, swaggering jazz blues on the record. Likewise, "For Everyone Under the Sun" and a cover of Al Green's instantly recognizable "Let's Stay Together" prove that a soul band doesn't need a flamboyant leader with a microphone and sequined jacket to really express what Smith does; true musical emotion.

The thing that really sets Root Down apart from the average "jazz dinosaur" album is that it isn't really a jazz album. The group breaks plenty of rules as it fearlessly explores the boundaries of every song, often blurring actual melodies and disposing of form entirely at the end of several tracks. This has to be one of the first -- and best -- jazz groups that was not afraid to stay on one chord and jam over it for an extra six minutes after a song's traditional ending.

Any young jazz fan knows that those rules continue to be broken to this day. Jimmy Smith deserves at least some of the blame.