Hummus Crisis: Banks Of The River

For their third album, British organ trio Hummus Crisis—guitarist Kevin M Armstrong, organist Martin Pickett and drummer Ben Twyford—reconstruct themselves. The trio becomes a quartet with guest Alec Dankworth taking over the bass lines, and Pickett switching from organ to acoustic piano. And, in a smaller tweak, for the first time a standard, Jimmy Van Heusen's "Polka Dots And Moonbeams," is included in the otherwise all-originals set.

The reason for bringing Dankworth in was that the trio felt the material, most of it written during the pandemic and characterised by a generally reflective vibe, called for a more lyrical approach. It was a good decision; Dankworth and Twyford anchor things with crisp precision. (It is unfortunate that many with-organ line-ups do not also include a bassist, because foot-pedalled bass lines suffer from a lack of percussive attack and almost invariably sound muddy. But that is for another discussion). Despite the ghastly two years during which most of the material was written, the music feels positive throughout.

Armstrong and Pickett are the main soloists, although Dankworth takes a solo on Armstrong's waltz, "Chintz," and Twyford engages in some energetic trades on Pickett's "Heavy Days," the most up-tempo piece on the album. Armstrong's melodic, cleanly articulated, single-note soloing is a delight, and Pickett's right hand similarly so.

Banks Of The River is consistently good and it is difficult to pick standout tracks. But "Polka Dots And Moonbeams," in which the theme is not actually played until the end of the track, following solos from Pickett and Armstrong, deserves a shout. So does Armstrong's "Banks Of The River J," a tribute to the late British guitarist Ronny Jordan, whose acid-jazz cover of Miles Davis' "So What" was a worldwide hit in 1992-3. It would be good to hear Hummus Crisis' organ-trio version of "Banks Of The River J" too (maybe with a guest electric bassist?).