Reuben Wilson: Organ Donor

One of the jazz trends of the ’90s was the resurgence of the Hammond B-3 organ. Reuben Wilson, whose late ’60s and early ’70s Blue Note albums have been sampled by latter-day pop groups, is one of the deserved beneficiaries. His new Organ Donor mines soul-funk-R & B grooves similar to its predecessors. It’s a well done commercial album with a hot, attractive organ sound, plenty of syncopated, danceable rhythms, and contemporary saxophone and guitar solos by Melvin Butler and Robin Macatangay, respectively.

Performances such as the James Brown-flavored “Orange Peel” and the stepping “Ronnie’s Bonnie” show how well Wilson paces his solos and dovetails rhythmically with the tight, underlying groove. There’s some mellow, largely unobjectionable pop-oriented stuff here, too, with vocals. Wilson employs additional keyboards by Bruce Flowers in the rhythm section, along with Chris Parks’ bass, Adrian Harpham’s drums and Ricardo Rodriquez’s percussion. Don’t look for startling jazz solos here, but for craftsmanship of the groove this album is a hit.

Originally Published May 1, 2000