The State of Organ Jazz 2010 (Pt. 1): Wayne Escoffery, Dan Pratt and Matthew Kaminski

Besides being a firebrand, the organ rhythm section offers a grand alternative to piano and guitar setups. It provides an earthy sophistication, a hint of "soul jazz" as rich as bacon fat added to greens. In spring 2010, the market allows for several organ jazz releases of note. Here are three of them coming from Wayne Escoffery, Dan Pratt, and Matthew Kaminski.

Wayne Escoffery

Uptown

Posi-Tone Records

2010

Wayne Escoffery's previous recordings, Times Change (Nagel Heyer Records, 2001), Intuition (Nagel Heyer Records, 2004), Veneration: Live at Smoke (Savant Records, 2007), Carolyn Leonhart & Wayne Escoffery—If Dreams Come True (Nagel- Heyer Records, 2007) and Wayne Escoffery & Veneration—Hopes & Dreams (Savant Records, 2008), established the saxophonist as a solid post bop musician with intelligent ideas and fine tonal form. His keen approach is sharpened in the organ trio format, where every edge and corner is visible.

This sharpness and precision in this format is made that much more keen by guitarist Avi Rothbard's composing. "No Desert" and "Cross Bronx" are draftsman-angular pieces with accurate heads and orderly solos, all held together with the glue of Gary Versace's organ. The real treat on the disc is a rollicking version of Duke Ellington's "I Got it Bad," where Escoffery swings so hard he changes the weather. Escoffery's retro blues "Easy Now" is breezy with a gospel feel. "Nu Soul" breaks into adult contemporary terrain with a complex, assertive head. Escoffery is full-throated in his tenor tone and Versace all creamy warmth.

Uptown is an exciting release, a chance taken where the payoff is very finely performed music. Wayne Escoffery should return to this format in future recordings, but should not to over-do it, in case he makes the experience pedestrian.

Visit Wayne Escoffery on the web.

Dan Pratt Organ Quartet

Toe The Line

Posi-Tone Records

2010

Saxophonist Dan Pratt likes to fray those precise edges established by Wayne Escoffery, adding a bit of funky freedom to the mix. He also adds the competing trombone of Alan Ferber, rounding out the horn tone of the combo. Toe The Line is Pratt's second recording, following Spring Loaded (Sunny Sky, 2004). It is a collection of eight Pratt originals and one standard (Ellington's "Star Crossed Lovers").

Pratt's compositional bent tends to smart and wordy post bop. "Houdini" and "Minor Procedure" both are up-tempo burners with winding introductions. "Doppelganger" is an off-time blues that allows Pratt's tenor to have contrapuntal relations with Alan Ferber's trombone. The two unite for some slick and mantra-like ensemble play that oddly recalls saxophonist John Coltrane's spiritual spasms without imitating them.

"Star Crossed Lovers" bisects the recital with a bona fide ballad treatment that recalls baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan and valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer in a very modern way. Jared Gold provides a most modern organ solo that mixes well with Pratt's and Ferber's subsequent soliloquies. The closing piece, "After," opens with a Pentecostal call-and-response that flirts with a ballad before crossing the blues with sanctified gospel, producing 21st century New Orleans R & B. This broadly appealing album has much to offer listeners, its coda being a part of jazz fans' collective DNA.

Visit Dan Pratt on the web.

Matthew Kaminski

Taking My Time

Chicken Coup Records

2010

Matthew Kaminski's Taking My Time is the most "mainstream" of the organ jazz offerings considered here. His opening cover of Lou Donaldson's "Hot Dog" is indication of that. It brims with the updated boogaloo that Donaldson pioneered in the 1960s with that broad, smiling alto he had. Kaminski and saxophonist E.J. Hughes work out. The original "Taking My Time" is a strolling blues that allows Kaminski and guitarist Charles Loehle ample time for solo investigations.

But, of course, this is not all blues and funk. Kaminski relaxes with up-tempo ballads such as "It Might As Well Be Spring, "Where Or When" and the languid and sexy "Moonlight In Vermont," the last proving a kind vehicle for guitarist Charlie Robinson and surrounding a soulful musical conversation between Kaminski and the guitarist. Kaminski's organ takes on a warm church tone with burping bass pedal and a murmuring low register. Surprises on the disc include a bright take on the Beach Boys' "Caroline, No." It is given a full-bore treatment like the one given Richard "Groove" Holmes' "Sweatin,'" well integrated and swinging.

This brand of "traditional" organ jazz will always have a place in jazz. It is music that speaks to the funky soul and comes with all levels of grease and greens—and a steady diet of that will benefit all.

Visit Matthew Kaminski on the web.

Tracks and Personnel

Uptown

Tracks: No Desert; I Got It Bad; Cross Bronx; You Know I Care; Road From Eilat; Gulf Of Aqaba; Nu Soul; Maya's Waltz; Easy Now.

Personnel: Wayne Escoffery: tenor saxophone; Avi Rothbard: guitar; Gary Versace: organ; Jason Brown: drums.

Toe The Line

Tracks: Houdini; Minor Procedure; Wanderlust; Doppelganger; Star Crossed Lovers; Toe The Line; Stoic; Uncle Underpants; After.

Personnel: Dan Pratt: saxophone; Alan Ferber: trombone; Jared Gold: organ; Mark Ferber: drums.

Taking My Time

Tracks: Hot Dog; Taking My Time; Flip The Lid; Sweatin'; Caroline, No; It Might As Well Be Spring; Figures; Mazzy; Where Or When; Moonlight In Vermont; Karolina.

Personnel: Matthew Kaminski: Hammond B3 Organ, Leslie 21 System Speaker; E.J. Hughes: tenor saxophone (1-3, 7, 11); Micha Cadwell: guitar( 5, 6, 9); Charles Loehle: guitar (1-4,7, 11); Charlie Robinson: guitar (8, 10); Justin Chesarek: drums (5, 6, 8-10); Mike Hinton: drums (1, 11); Emrah Kotan: drums (2-4, 7).

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