Organized
January/February 2005 By Bill Milkowski
The Mighty Burner
HighNote Records
The late Charles Earland displayed a relentless intensity at the B3 right up until his death on December 11, 1999. To commemorate his latter period, label head Joe Fields put together the posthumous release The Mighty Burner: The Best of his HighNote Recordings...
January/February 2005 By Bill Milkowski
Deep Blue Bruise
Delmark Records
The Deep Blue Organ Trio, featuring guitarist Bobby Broom and organist Chris Foreman, is a tightly knit Chitown unit that is adept at putting an old-school soul-jazz spin on popular nonjazz repertoire on Deep Blue Bruise (Delmark). They turn in a slamming...
January/February 2005 By Bill Milkowski
The Fiery Blues
Summit
Columbus, Ohio native Tony Monaco is a monster B3 player with a penchant for blazing Jimmy Smith-style blues excursions with his right hand. The aptly named The Fiery Blues (Summit) is an exhilarating collection of slow blues (Hank Marr's "Greasy Spoon...
January/February 2005 By Bill Milkowski
Midnight Theme
Dopebrother
From the sublime to the ridiculous, Manzel is a trio led by organist Manzel Bush. Their Midnight Theme (Dopebrother) is a collection of monotonous, incredibly dated and inherently cheesy tracks from the '70s that sound like outtakes from failed blaxploitation...
January/February 2005 By Bill Milkowski
Live in NYC July 30 2004
Pirate
Far more relevant, particularly for today's hip-hop and jam-band crowds, is Soulive's Live in NYC (Pirate Entertainment/DiscLive). Recorded at the intimate Tribeca Rock Club on July 30, 2004, this two-CD set is a kind of beat-the-bootlegs project. Made available...
January/February 2005 By Bill Milkowski
Tomorrow Yesterday Today
Criss Cross Jazz
The 68-year-old Melvin Rhyne, a key member of Wes Montgomery's original Riverside trio from 1959 to 1964, still sounds on top of his game as evidenced on Tomorrow, Yesterday, Today (Criss Cross). Joined by guitarist and frequent collaborator Peter Bernstein...
January/February 2005 By Bill Milkowski
Walking Uptown
Savant
Like his excitable and extremely gifted son Joey, "Papa" John DeFrancesco likes to build to big crescendos and dive headlong into the blues, as heard on Walking Uptown (Savant). The Philly patriarch radiates chitlin' circuit charm at the console, and he...
January/February 2005 By Bill Milkowski
A Deeper Blue
Severn Records
More so than most, Bruce Katz takes a rough roadhouse approach to the Hammond B3 organ group on A Deeper Blue (Severn). The shuffles are greasier, and the playing is more primal and cathartic, especially by guitar killer Michael Williams. And the overall...
January/February 2005 By Bill Milkowski
Bull's Eye!
PureMusic
Guitarist Sheryl Bailey offers an alternative to the old-school organ-trio approach on Bull's Eye! (Pure). On her third outing as a leader, the gifted Berklee College of Music grad and her cohorts Gary Versace on organ and Ian Froman on drums take a decidedly...
January/February 2005 By Bill Milkowski
Organic Sound
TCB
The Alexandre Huber Trio is almost painfully polite on Organic Sound (TCB). While organist Huber and his Swiss compatriot, drummer Alain Petitmermet, are both accomplished musicians, and the Belgian guitarist Bernard Dossin follows in the tradition of great...
