As cliche driven as this sounds…Jared Gold is indeed the “Golden Child.”
Organ trios seem to be finding their stride once again with some bordering on the type of organ you heard at the local skating rink while growing up and others being high standard hard hitting dates where the band reacquaints you with the land of rhythm and groove and session rests comfortably in the pocket.
Jared Gold’s Golden Child is the epitome of the searching musician, a musician finding his own unique voice through extending his harmonic exploration while making his own groove even tighter. Jared Gold kicks off with “A Change Is Gonna Come” and re fries the soul of the legendary Sam Cooke which is further proof you can make a good thing better. Organ trios are notorious for doing their own riff others classic material, picking up their check and calling it a night. Jared Gold contributes five solid original tunes here that if it were not for a working knowledge of the tunes listed it may be difficult to determine where one hit stops and a Gold original takes over as evident with the Gold tune “Hold That Thought.” A slight Larry Young influence on this tune pushes past the norm and the rhythmic reinforcement from guitarist Ed Cherry and the finesse of drummer Quincy Davis adds just the right amount of flavor and pop to infuse a swing that is uniquely Gold’s. The trio assembled is built on variety with shifting dynamics and working without a harmonic net, Jared Gold is working his own sonic high wire act and with virtually flawless results. Avant-gard texture takes the Johnny Nash classic “I Can See Clearly Now” from the potentially sonic trip wire to a syncopated blues infused exploratory of B3 funk and it is a beautiful thing. Gold and Cherry work their voicing in tandem for an absolute gem. A similar approach is taken with the Glen Campbell performed classic “Witchita Lineman” and the results are stellar. Another Gold original of note would be “Times Up” were meter and harmonics are shifted on the fly and Gold’s virtuoso performance is indeed designed to make the jazz purist sit up and take immediate notice.
An eclectic set of tunes that are handled with a myriad of influences and arrangements transforms what could easily be the mundane and technically proficient into the artistically gifted of a relatively new shooter in the world of modern jazz.
Jared Gold is one of the more gifted talents on the horizon today. More than technically proficient and artistically gifted, Jared Gold is a musical visionary whose musical stock is indeed an arrow pointing straight up!
Tracks: A Change Is Gonna Come; Hold That Thought; I Can See Clearly Now; Golden Child; Wichita Lineman; 14 Carat Gold; I Wanna Walk; Pensa Em Mim; In A Sentimental Mood; Times Up; When It’s Sleepy Time Down South.
Personnel: Jared Gold: organ; Ed Cherry: guitar; Quincy Davis:drums.
