Drawn from the sessions recorded for United Records between 1951 and 1952, Jump Time brings together the early hits of Tab Smith, an alto saxophonist whose playing bridged postwar swing and the emergence of instrumental rhythm & blues. Alternating original compositions and covers of popular standards, the program highlights a warm sound and melodic phrasing that earned him wide success, notably thanks to “Because of You,” one of his biggest commercial hits. These recordings bear witness to a period when Tab Smith established himself as one of the leading figures in the United catalog, before gradually withdrawing from the scene in the early 1960s. This Delmark edition launches a major reissue project devoted to all of his tapes for United, bringing back into circulation an essential chapter in the history of jump blues and American R&B.