Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Gregory Lewis: Organ Monk Blue

4

Gregory Lewis: Organ Monk Blue

By

Sign in to view read count
Gregory Lewis: Organ Monk Blue
Organist Gregory Lewis gained the nickname "Organ Monk" due to his specialization in the music of Thelonious Monk. Known for his exaggerated, florid playing, this is the third CD he's done of Monk's music and this time he has teamed up with a musician who can match him flourish for flourish, chameleon guitarist Marc Ribot.

Lewis' grandiose organ style, with its long sustains and dramatic sweeps, is a force in its own right but Ribot makes things even wilder as he adds intense guitar that shifts gears from track to track. He plays fat, choppy funk on "Green Chimneys," over-the-top blues heroics on "Blue Sphere" and more relaxed blues on "Misterioso." On "Nutty" and "Blues Five Spot" he does lyrical jazz licks like Grant Green and on "Raise Four" he blazes into fast jazz-rock squalling that makes the tune sound like a lost Mahavishnu Orchestra piece.

"Blue Hawk" and "Ba-lue Bolivar" are the sounds of The Meters or Booker T. and the MG's playing Monk, with Jeremy "Bean" Clemons maintaining eminently tight and funky grooves on the drums while Lewis and Ribot wail on top with sliding runs and chicken scratch rhythms. Clemons is an unsung hero throughout the CD, continuously grounding his partners' wild flights with patterns that roll like slow-moving thunder, accented by the occasional thunderous crash.

This is not your conventional organ trio. Ribot and Lewis are both unique musicians and they turn out to be great foils for one another. They play Monk as though they were in some backwoods roadhouse at 1 AM, grooving with a combination of go-for-broke mischief and lowdown, elemental grit. They've put together one of the most delightfully twisted Monk sets out there.

Track Listing

Green Chimneys; Blue Sphere; Raise Four; Misterioso; Blue Hawk; Nutty; Blues Five Spot; Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are.

Personnel

Greg Lewis
organ, Hammond B3
Marc Ribot
guitar

Album information

Title: Organ Monk Blue | Year Released: 2017 | Record Label: Self Produced

Comments

Tags

Concerts


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Sensual
Rachel Z
Over and Over
Tony Monaco Trio
Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.