Larry Goldings
& Bob Ward
Web Site
July 2000

Voodoo Dogs
Palmetto
2000

Voodoo Dogs
Reviewed By
Glenn Astarita
David Adler

In one of the most surprising and rewarding collaborations of the year, multi-faceted keyboard player and jazz organist extraordinaire Larry Goldings has teamed up with recording studio pro and guitar whiz Bob Ward to present Voodoo Dogs, a ten-track gumbo of funk, soul-jazz and world beat rhythms that smacks of deep grooves and a cutting edge sensibility.

For Larry Goldings, Voodoo Dogs represents a return to some of the infectious funk styles he first cut his teeth on after college in 1991 when he joined former James Brown saxman Maceo Parker's hard-stomping band for a two-year stint on keyboards. Although subsequent years have seen the renowned organist primarily in a jazz vein, working steadily with countless musical artists and also recording seven widely-acclaimed solo albums, including last year's Moonbird, a trio date released on Palmetto Records, Voodoo Dogs finds Goldings stretching out and reveling in an environment of sound more akin to The Meters than Jimmy Smith. Fans of funk-heavy jam bands like Galactic should take note.

Without ignoring the influence of organ masters Jimmy Smith and Larry Young, Goldings has brought a new prominence and perspective to the Hammond B-3 as a jazz instrument. Considered to be one of the most talented and versatile keyboardists on the scene today, Goldings first raised eyebrows in the late 1980s when he helped revive the organ trio tradition with drummer Bill Stewart and guitarist Peter Bernstein. A highly sought-after accompanist, Goldings has played behind a who's who of jazz notables throughout the 1990s, including Jim Hall, John Scofield, Bobby Previte, Don Braden and Chris Potter; and he was featured on two of last year's top jazz albums--Michael Brecker's Time is of the Essence and Javon Jackson's Pleasant Valley.

During the past decade, Bob Ward has widened his reputation working as a producer, sound mixer and mastering engineer for the likes of Anthony Braxton, Dave Douglas and Dominique Eade. Like Daniel Lanois, Ward has emerged from the behind the sound board to take his turn in front of the microphones, displaying a virtuosic range of guitar techniques and styles. Needless to say, his studio expertise is quite evident on Voodoo Dogs, where he layers drum and rhythm tracks of his own making with head-spinning samples to create one choice groove after another.