Alexandre Huber Trio: Organic Sound

It was a good day when Alexandre Huber discovered the connection between jazz and the organ. Huber was studying classical music at the Conservatory of Lausanne when jazz came in and he became aware of the extended use that he could make of the organ. So deep was the lure that he taught himself to play the instrument. And darn if he did not do a good job of it, too!

Huber is an accomplished musician. He takes every advantage of the tonality of the organ without stepping over the edge. He has a fine sense of melody that is evoked on his compositions, and he gives the standards a welcome dynamic. Abetting the whole are guitarist Bernard Dossin and drummer Alain Petitmermet, who slip comfortably into a warm nook with Huber to voice the music articulately.

Huber has a facility for bop and swing. They are clasped in his sense of development, as he moves melody in and then augments it with a rich array of ideas. Bop gets its shot in the meter and rhythm on "Be and Bop Are in a Boat" that pumps the beat and sways on the organ when Dossin comes in and swings admirably, his loping notes giving way to a cutting edge without effacing the swing. Huber jumps in and the delight drives ahead, with Petitmermet keeping the pulse on a positive charge. The trio brings in a quieter mood on "Exploring the Dance." The vein of feeling runs strong and deep as they play with an unblemished intensity, adding chunky riffs and imaginative chords to lend the sinew. The depth they can impart is further strengthened on their interpretation of "My Foolish Heart," where the song is soft-shaded, the colors they lend pastel in hue but daubed, together with their sense of structure and harmony, with a vivid understanding of the imperatives that give soul to music.