The jazz audience contains people, present company not necessarily excepted, who are resistant to the charms of the Hammond B-3. They find it a somewhat vulgar instrument, with unpleasant, artificial sonorities. They all need to meet Ben Paterson. He may be the most purely musical organist out there. He is not into shrieking and raising hell. He is not about sweat and grease. His virtues are ones not normally associated with the B-3, such as finesse and nuanced melodicism.
But he still swings his ass off. On tunes like “I’ve Never Been in Love Before” and “Blues for C.F.,” his trio with guitarist Peter Bernstein and drummer George Fludas finds a subtle, wicked groove and stays there. Their graceful, sensuous glide sounds natural, not forced.
