In the ’60s, you could put Johnny “Hammond” Smith in a holy trinity of same-surnamed B-3 masters right alongside Jimmy and Dr. Lonnie, but his decade-straddling years on the Prestige label had his soul-jazz stylings threatening to coast on autopilot. When he jumped to CTI in ’71, though, he ditched the “Smith,” turned up the groove, and eventually started to work his magic on (gasp) synthesizers as well as the traditional organ. By the time the Mizells came in to twist the knobs for Gambler’s Life, he’d adapted perfectly to the fusion milieu of the mid ’70s, with results — the title cut’s punchy is-this-Hell-or-Vegas vertigo; the leather-upholstered spaceship lounge soundtrack “Star Borne”; the manic solos-upon-solos proto-disco-jazz of “Rhodesian Thoroughfare” and “Yesterday Was Cool” — that maintained an unreal momentum. Sure, it’s smooth — at 200 MPH.

– Nate Patrin