Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (album) explained

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Type:	studio
Artist:	Jimmy Smith
Cover:	Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (album).jpeg
Released:	March 1964
Recorded:	January 20–21 & 27, 1964
Studio:	Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs NJ
Genre:	Jazz
Length:	35:06
Label:	Verve V6-8583
Producer:	Creed Taylor
Prev Title:	The Cat
Prev Year:	1964
Next Title:	Christmas '64
Next Year:	1964

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a 1964 studio album by organist Jimmy Smith, released on the Verve label. Smith is accompanied by a big band with arrangements by Oliver Nelson and Claus Ogerman.

Reception

The album received 4½ stars in DownBeat magazine. That review stated AllMusic reviewer Michael G. Nastos, only gave the album 2½ stars stating that:The album was Smith's third highest charting album, spending 31 weeks and charting as high as number 16 on the US Billboard 200 charts.

Track listing

1. "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" (Richard Rodgers) – 7:06
2. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Pt. 1" (Don Kirkpatrick, Keith Knox) – 4:29
3. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Pt. 2" (Kirkpatrick, Knox) – 5:00
4. "John Brown's Body" (Traditional) – 5:18
5. "Wives and Lovers" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) – 3:17
6. "Women of the World" (Riziero Ortolani) – 5:47
7. "Bluesette" (Toots Thielemans) – 3:40

Recorded on January 20 (#1), 21 (#2-3) and January 27 (#4-7), 1964.

Personnel

Musicians

• Jimmy Smith – organ
• Oliver Nelson – arranger (#1-3)
• Claus Ogerman – arranger, conductor

Technical

• Creed Taylor – producer
• Val Valentin – engineer
• Rudy Van Gelder – engineer
• Acy Lehman – design
• Roy De Carava – photography
• Daddio Daylie – liner notes

Chart performance

Single

Notes and References

1. Web site: Billboard 200 - Jimmy Smith. December 19, 2017.
2. Web site: Billboard Hot 100 - Jimmy Smith. December 19, 2017.