Nigel Price Organ Trio At Magy's Farm

Nigel Price Organ Trio
Magy's Farm
Dromara, N. Ireland
November 29, 2025

You probably have to go back to the Duke Ellington Orchestra in the '50s to find a harder-touring jazz outfit than the Nigel Price Organ Trio. Between the beginning of April and the end of June 1950 Ellington led his musicians through 74 gigs in 77 days on a European tour. Talk about logistical headaches.

Ellington might have smiled wryly at the notion of a mere 46-date tour, but the Nigel Price Organ Trio's three-month UK tour is a fairly extraordinary feat by modern standards—all the more so given that Price organized all the dates himself.

The former James Taylor Quartet guitarist founded the Nigel Price Organ Trio in 2002, thus joining a long and remarkably durable tradition. As a format, the jazz organ trio has altered little since Wild Bill Davis pioneered the combo in the early '50s. For many, the '50s and '60s were the golden age of jazz organ trios but the population of this species remains healthy.

Against all odds, the jazz organ trio has survived the loss of habitat (dwindling jazz clubs), climate change (the proliferation of laptops, MIDI, AI) and predators (cuts by ravenous funding bodies). Think Medeski Martin & Wood, James Carter Organ Trio, The Bobby Broom Organi-station, Peter Bernstein, Larry Goldings and Bill Stewart...

Beyond America's shores the jazz organ trio thrives in Singapore (Jeremy Monteiro's Organamix), in Ireland (Organ Freeman), in Denmark (Ibrahim Electric), in Italy (Alberto Marsico) and in many other corners of the globe.

In one small corner of the globe in the County Down hills stands Magy's Farm—the venue for the Nigel Price Organ Trio's Friday night gig. Over the years the trio's personnel has changed, but Ross Stanley has held the organ chair since 2016, and Joel Barford the drum stool since 2021. Remarkably, Stanley found time to freelance during this 46-date tour, having flown to Dublin that morning from a gig in Barcelona the night before. Price dubbed him the hardest-working musician in jazz—a case of the pot calling the kettle black—and "half-man, half-invoice." Stanley neither confirmed nor denied the charges.

The 90-minute set drew heavily from the freshly minted It's On! (Nervy Nigel Records, 2025)—the trio's 10th album. The mellow swing of the title track kicked the evening off, with early salvos from all three. Price's bluesy touch and bright chords pointed to Wes Montgomery, his unhurried phrasing to Kenny Burrell as touchstones. At the grittier, more biting end of the scale, as on the biting jazz-funk of "Chonky," Price and co flew closer to the heat of John Scofield's organ-based combos.

Something that unites all those guitarists is swing and blues, and these were the cornerstone of the set—originals and standards alike. Price made no apologies for the nod to tradition, speaking of the need to honor the trailblazers and of the abiding love so many people have for this music. No arguments there.

Homage to organist Shirley Scott came with "Hey, Shirley," a mid-tempo blues crowned with a terrific barrage from Barford, whose propulsive stick-work all evening was riveting. The London-based drummer can be heard with former Miles Davis guitarist Robben Ford, in Trish Clowes My Iris and in Ronnie Scott's house band. Much more than a timekeeper, the rhythmic agility and panache he displayed this evening evoked The Dirty Three's drummer Jim White—the original purveyor of balletic grace and rolling thunder.

Grace was the watchword on a lovely version of Herb Ellis' ballad "Detour Ahead," with Stanley coaxing shimmering shapes from his Viscount Legend organ over a brushes bed. Back in June 2024, Stanley played four Irish dates with the Phil Robson Organ Trio (see review), lugging a wooden-cased Hammond C-3 circa 1961around. Whilst there is no substitute for that noble beast, the Viscount is a crafty impersonator, especially in the hands of an artist. From growl to whisper, from wicked blues to church-like reverie, Stanley had an entire musical universe in his hands.

Magy's Farm co-founder Linley Hamilton guested on "Backatcha," the trumpeter trading fours with Price and Barford on a sizzling swinger whose minor blues form, Price related, took its lead from George Benson's "Myna Bird Blues." A lowering of the collective flame came with the standard "Make Someone Happy;" here Price channeled the spirit of Kenny Burrell—who recorded the Jule Styne tune on Round Midnight (Fantasy, 1972)—with a beautifully weighted solo. It was his tender unaccompanied coda, however, wherein lay the real magic.

From Burrell to Wes Montgomery's "Jingles," from the album Wes Reimagined (Ubuntu Music, 2021). Taken at the same lickety-split tempo as the original, the reimagining lay in Barford's samba rhythms. His dancing churn underpinned stellar solos from Stanley followed by Price unaccompanied. The drummer then unleashed a solo that few who were present will easily forget. Bass drum bombs and hi-hat chatter punctuated snarling snare rolls, whip-like cymbal flashes and meaty floor-tom cascades. Modulating rhythms jumped from one drum head to another.

At one point in the solo Barford dropped a stick between tom and bass drums, recovering his composure so quickly it seemed he had not missed a beat. It brought to mind the old Muhammad Ali joke about being so fast he could flick a light switch and be out of the room before it got dark. Spectacular stuff.

The final number, Joe Zawinul's "Midnight Mood," rounded things off in upbeat, swinging manner. Fast walking bass and hissing hi-hat powered another gem of a solo from Price—all dancing chords, loose-wristed strum and liquid runs. When the trio's steam had evaporated, Stanley's gospel-blues coda, bolstered by the sympathetic trumpet playing of Linley Hamilton, served up a spine-tingling ending.

It would be a fool's errand to attempt to hail the world's greatest jazz organ trio, but if such a debate were to take place—and there is never a shortage of willing fools—then the Nigel Price Organ Trio would surely be in the mix.

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