1975 · Album
Gears
Recorded 1975 · Kudu Records · Produced by Larry and Fonce Mizell
Hammond's Funkiest Gear Shift
Hammond swings hard over Mizell's crisp production, mixing organ soul with genuine groove.
By 1975, Johnny Hammond was well established as an organist who could swing in multiple directions — soul-jazz, straight ahead bebop, R&B grooves. Gears sits at a sweet spot in his career where he had nothing to prove and every reason to experiment. The Mizell brothers, Larry and Fonce, produced this record with a crisp, direct hand that strips away excess and highlights what Hammond does best: making an organ sound alive and modern without betraying its roots.
The album leans into funk and soul territory, which was smart timing in the mid-seventies. Hammond's touch on the keys is warm and precise, never overplayed. The grooves lock in tight, and there's real conversation happening between Hammond and his band rather than just the organ carrying the weight. Fonce Mizell's approach as a producer favored clarity and pocket over studio tricks, which gives Gears an immediate, almost live feel despite being carefully arranged.
This is not Hammond at some imagined peak—he was making strong music throughout the seventies—but it's a record that found him playing the material with genuine comfort, paired with production that knew exactly how to frame that sound. If you come to Hammond through his earlier Blue Note work or his later fusion experiments, Gears shows a middle ground where taste and execution meet without fuss. It's the kind of record that rewards a full listen rather than a single track.
