Deep Blue Organ Trio: Folk Music

With the first two bars of Folk Music, you can tell that things are going to get greasy. Few people want greasy hair or greasy food, but greasy music is a whole other story: it means soulful and swinging and played with the kind of laid-back confidence that signifies true mastery. "Blues is the preacher, jazz is the teacher, says the group's website. This approach is one reason this CD is a pleasure from beginning to end.

Another is the personnel. The Deep Blue Organ Trio has been playing at Chicago's famous Green Mill club for years, and their ease with each other is audible. Each of them also has an impressive pedigree: organist Chris Foreman has worked with Hank Crawford and Albert Collins; guitarist Bobby Broom has played with Charles Earland, Sonny Rollins, and Art Blakey; and drummer Greg Rockingham's resume includes big bands and vocalists like Freddie Cole.

Then there's the material, which is a pleasurable mix of blues and jazz, R&B and soul. This CD travels from the blues through mainstream jazz to pop to The Beatles. And while it's true, as Louis Armstrong observed, that "All music is folk music. I ain't never heard a horse sing a song, this particular Folk Music is something special. It features great players having great fun, and laying down the kind of serious grooves that only an organ trio can deliver.