Soule Monde at Higher Ground, South Burlington, Vermont

Soule Monde
Higher Ground Ballroom
South Burlington, VT
December 27, 2014

Since they began playing as a duo a few years ago as Soule Monde, drummer Russ Lawton and keyboardist Ray Paczkowski have refined the chemistry they discovered as perennials in the Trey Anastasio Band. Opening slots like the ones this late December weekend at Higher Ground will only serve to heighten their visibility while simultaneously deepening their musical camaraderie.

Opening with numbers from their eponymous album, "Rocket" and "Whassat," Soule Monde immediately hearkened to the classic jazz organ trios of the fifties—close your eyes and the pair sound like more than just two musicians—but Rudy Van Gelder's studio never heard such a fatback beat as Lawton pounded out alongside the swirling sound of Paczkowski on the Hammond B3. A Horace Silver tune called "The Jody Grind," reaffirmed the duo's roots and, with melody slightly more prominent than rhythm here, the deft dynamics of the hour-plus set began to manifest themselves.

The uninitiated might expect a mere twosome to repeat itself before too long, but Soule Monde paced this performance as if it were an expertly sequenced studio record On "Green Mountain Hustle" and "Take My Hand," Paczkowski introduced crisp electric piano and concentrated on those textures just when the increasing prominence of clavinet syncopation might render predictable its direct contrast with organ.

Ultimately, the two long-time partners reaffirmed their style as a couple drum breaks, albeit truncated ones, plus more quiet interplay between Lawton and Paczkowski, added distinction to the selections as they evolved over the course of the show. Thus, by the time Soule Monde dug back into increasingly frenetic grooves to conclude with "Elsie's River and "The Influence," the sensation of familiarity was positive rather than predictable.

Not surprisingly then, while the larger room of the venue filled in anticipation of the headliner Twiddle, the attendees' enthusiastic response to Soule Monde was proportionately more robust, right in keeping with the ever-so-accessible sound of the band. Having recently returned from the road with TAB, the joyful sound these musicians conjured up celebrated a homecoming , the holiday season and the first of two high-spirited nights at the Vermont venue.