1. Eighty One
2. The End of a Love Affair
3. Introductions
4. Ode to Angela
5. Songline
6. You Don't Know Me
7. Fly Me to the Moon
8. Whichole
Joey DeFrancesco - Organ
Paul Bollenback - Guitar
Byron Landham - Drums
I was feeling tired and a bit depressed - I can't remember why. Then
I put on this CD, and my whole mood changed for the better. This session
of live, no-nonsense jazz shed sunshine into my life. This album is
sub-titled "The Original Trio" and there is certainly plenty
of empathy between these three men, who have played together for many
years. Drummer Byron Landham has backed Joey DeFrancesco for most
of the time since 1989. Guitarist Paul Bollenback was with Joey from
1990 to 2002, when Paul (in Joey's ironical introduction) "moved
on, started to do some other things on his own - and those things
didn't work out too well, so he's back here - no, I'm only joking".
The opening Eighty One, by Miles Davis & Ron Carter, is
a groovy, funky affair which immediately lifts one's spirits. It features
Paul Bollenback in a lengthy but well-constructed solo. Joey DeFrancesco
creates some interesting counterpoint between the keyboard and pedals
of his Hammond organ, while Byron Landham lays down a driving rhythm.
The End of a Love Affair is taken at a fastish speed but it
illustrates the trio's ability to play with quiet subtlety. It also
displays the group's freedom - playing around with the tempo while
swinging at almost any pace. It even goes into a kind of free jazz,
which differs from many attempts at the avant-garde by maintaining
coherence. Ode to Angela also starts gently, with DeFrancesco
caressing Harold Land's composition. The rich harmonies he coaxes
out of the Hammond B3 are set off against his dextrous finger work
at the top of the keyboard. Paul Bollenback's solo also treats the
tune sensitively.
Paul composed Songline, which again hints at a variety of
tempos, although six-eight is dominant. Drummer Byron Landham solos
powerfully against the Hammond background. Ray Charles's hit You
Don't Know Me is appropriately delivered by Joey in a slow, smouldering
tempo which evokes Ray's soulful spirit. Paul Bollenback's solo adds
lyricism. The whole track abounds in the drama which organ trios are
so well suited to producing.
Fly Me to the Moon is played at the request of an audience
member: Joey's organist father, Papa John DeFrancesco. The performance
avoids the bossa or four-four rhythm which so often accompanies this
tune. Instead, the trio plays it basically as a jazz waltz, although
yet again they appear to venture into several other tempos along the
way, and Joey's solo is heightened by some cheeky quotes. Paul solos
unaccompanied and in free time, before organ and drums join in for
some fireworks, ending with Bachian counterpoint and a surprise climax.
The session closes with Whichole, a swinging DeFrancesco original
which moves with such impetus that it almost overruns the buffers.
This album actually makes me cry - with delight at the brilliant interplay
of the musicians and the joyful feeling they generate.
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
HighNote HCD 7199
