Wayne Escoffery
Uptown
Posi-tone Records
www.posi-tone.com
Jared Gold
Supersonic
Posi-tone Records
www.posi-tone.com
By George W. Harris
The studio used by Posi-tone must have some vintage Hammond B3 stuck in
the corner, because it seems everything put out on this label has this
great sounding organ lurking in the back or foreground. These two
releases are no exception.
Tom Harrell saxist Wayne Escoffery teams up with Gary Versace/B3, Avi Rothbard/g and Jason Brown/dr for a varied disc that goes from bluesy swing like
Ellington’s “I Got It Bad” to aggressive hard bop like Rothbard’s “No
Desert.” Escoffery’s gut a muscular sound on tenor, and he uses it
well, particularly on the gentler pieces like “You Know I Care.”
Versace’s B3 gets a nice workout on “Road To Eilat” while Rothbard’s
guitar is nice and sinewy on “Nu Soul.” The joyous funk of his “Easy
Now” shows that the leader likes to keep the back beat moving. Good
times here.
Jared Gold leads the way on the B3 with drummer McClenty Hunter and
Gillespie alumnus Ed Cherry on guitar for some good old fashioned
bluesy boogie. He gets the tubes warmed up quickly with some cooking
takes of a couple of ringers; “Welcome Back” (from the 70’s TV show)
and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” are filled with funky turns and spins,
while Coldplay’s “Sparks” and Gold’s own “Battle of Tokorazawa” push
the Hammond fans to its limit. A lovely reading of The Beatles’ “In My
Life” and a haunting “Angel Eyes” show why you can never go wrong with
the good old Hammond. Like Noah and the Ark, some things like the B3
trio are destined to be remembered for all time.
