Hailed by many as the King of the B3 organ, Jimmy Smith is back on the road supporting "Dot Com Blues," his first new album in five years. On the album, Smith trades licks with a core band that includes guitarist Russell Malone and drummer Harvey Mason, as well as guests like BB King, Dr. John, Taj Mahal, Keb' Mo'.

Recorded at Cello Studios in Los Angeles, "Dot Com Blues" (Blue Thumb/Verve) was produced by John Porter, whose recent credits include BB King's "Deuces Wild" and Taj Mahal's "Phantom Blues."

"When we speak about the Hammond B3, there's nobody better than Jimmy," Verve Music Group president Ron Goldstein said in a statement. "Though the organ faded into obscurity for a while, now it's on everybody's records. I thought, 'Why should the man who is the master remain in obscurity?' I figured the best way to swing the spotlight back around to Jimmy was to have him cut something outside of the jazz marketplace. Why not the blues?"

Smith spoke briefly with liveDaily correspondent Don Zulaica before heading back out for the second leg of the tour.

LiveDaily: You seem to be willing to delve into other pop forms much more than your average jazz guy [funk in the '70s, straight-on blues on the new album]. Why the genre-hopping?

Smith: I just wanted to try something different, that's all, you know.

And with the new album, you're going back to your roots?

And gonna make me some money, yeah!

Why the title "Dot Com Blues"? Did some bad computer experiences prompt this?

No, no, no. My son and I were in my music room, and I was asking him about a particular song, I said "Gimmie a title, gimmie name for the song." And he was working on my computer, and he said, "Dot com, dammit!" And that's how it came about.

How do you record and put these records together? Sounds very live--you're all in one room together, correct?

Uh huh. Everybody [and] all the speakers are miked. Dr. John was miked.

One of many notable guests--BB King, Etta James [ tickets ], Taj Mahal. How long have you known Dr. John?

Oh, about 30 years.

Sounds like it was quite a feat to get everybody on the album.

Etta James, she's not feeling too well, you know, but she got there. BB King, I thought he wasn't going to get on there, but he got on there.

What's it like, working with these musicians?

What's it like? Everybody we work with out here in the legend world--we like it. We get along. It's a pleasure to work with each other, you know. "What is it like?" There's no "what is it like." What is it like to make love...no. We just do it, man. Get in that studio and do it. We produce. Then after it's done, we have a few laughs and go on our way.

And you've got younger guys in there like Keb' Mo'--how long have you known him?

I just met him. He came to the recording and we did the song ["Overand Over"] right there, spontaneously.

How big is your touring band?

There's four of us--five, seven if we need it, you know.