Organized Time: Photograph

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to make a buying decision on Photograph, but this inference-challenged purchaser would have no idea that it came from an organ-guitar-drum trio. The artwork on the front and back covers show photos of cows in pasture. This could be New Age music or an advertisement for Gateway Computers. However, upon opening the booklet you'll find more photos of the three musicians with their respective axes.

Organized Time celebrates the venerated organ trio on this debut release with ten original compositions that are equally penned by Matthew Kaminski and Micah Cadwell. They're pleasant enough tunes without a great deal of variation. The closest thing to a ballad is "This Is A Song I Wrote About Jesus," which begins as such and quickly moves into a mid-tempo groove. "Casa Espana" is given a Latin overlay.

The best parts of this album come when guitarist Micah Cadwell is featured. The aforementioned "This Is A Song I Wrote About Jesus," "Micah Nova," and "Peace Lily" showcase his fleet fingering and lyrical bent, the latter tune being a cooker. Matthew Kaminski spends a fair amount of his time playing in the upper register of the B3 organ, producing a shriller sound. I kept thinking, as on "Bits and Pieces," of the style of 1960s Brazilian organist Walter Wanderley. On "Peace Lily," a feature for Cadwell, Kaminski partially drowns out the guitarist on his melody statement with his comping.

In all fairness, I am not an jazz organ afficionado. I will listen to the music, appreciate it, and do have albums in my personal collection. However, 64 minutes of playing time had better be pretty close to the top of this genre for me to purchase it.

For more information, contact guitarist Micah Cadwell at [email protected].