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Written by Don Berryman
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Friday, 04 November 2005 |
'Organics' is an Irish organ trio with amazing chops. They have been
performing and composing since 1997 and this year released their first
CD "New Light". I shouldn't be
surprised that Ireland has a world class organ trio. Some of my first
exposure to the sweet sound of the Hammond organ was listening to the
'blue-eyed soul' of another Irishman, Van Morrison singing with the
group Them in the '60s. In
recent years Van has switched to jazz, and selected Organics' organist
Justin Carroll to tour internationally with him. Well known in Ireland,
Organics have backed visiting jazz musicians such as Bobby Watson and
Gil Scott-Heron.
 Organics
The music swings and grooves, but is not greasy. While avoiding showy
theatrics, the band allows its solid musicianship and depth of jazz
knowledge to be revealed throughout their music. John Moriarty is
soulful on guitar and while Justin Carroll provides an ample pocket;
playful polyrhythmic diversions from drummer Kevin Brady keep it all
fresh and swinging.
New Light features all
original numbers except for POSTMAN PAT by Bryan Daly, a theme song
from an animated BBC television show. New
Light opens with ACCORDING TO JOHN by guitarist John Moriarty,
this tune is swinging with a bluesy feel, similar to Wes Montgomery's
early compositions and reminds me of the pioneering work of Wes
Montgomery and Mel Rhyne with subtle contrapuntal interplay between the
guitar and organ.
The title track, written by organist Justin Carroll, along with his arrangement of POSTMAN
PAT, evokes the sound and reveals the influence of the late great Larry
Young (it has been said that if Jimmy Smith was the Charlie Parker of
the B3 organ, than Larry Young was it's Coltrane).
DOWN HOE is a gospel influenced soulful ballad by Moriarty. ANGELAS
KITCHEN is up tempo funky number by Carroll. The groove laden ELYSIAN
FIELDS by Drummer Kevin Brady is a modal exploration. In Greek
mythology, Elysian Fields are the abode of the blessed, situated at the
end of the world where that chosen by the gods are sent. The Organics
version makes it a very groovy paradise.
The CD closes with GIVE UP THE CAKE, a funky and sweet 12 bar blues: A
tasty desert for this satisfying musical meal.
Meet the boys:
Dublin-born Justin Carroll started
playing music at a young age studying piano and guitar. At the age of
16, he got into jazz and purchased a Hammond B3 organ. Since then,
Justin has toured internationally with Van Morrison playing in the U.S
and Europe. Carroll is a scholar of the Hammond sound as well.
His Masters thesis was on the effects of the Leslie Speaker
and featured a composition which demonstrates some of these effects,
such as the Doppler Shif. It also included the composition "Helicopter
Duo", an electronic piece for two performers to rotate manually two
hand-held speakers attached to rope.
Dublin-born guitarist John Moriarty
has won scholarships to Skidmore Jazz Institute in New York and Berklee
College of Music in Boston. As well as performing with Organics, John
leads his own quartet, and recent collaborations include jazz guitar
duets with Dublin guitarist Louis Stewart.
Drummer Kevin Brady has
performed in jazz combos with leading Irish musicians such as Louis
Stewart, Richie Buckley, Ronan Guilfoyle, Hugh Buckley, Noel Kelehan
and Dave Fleming. He has performed with The Phil Ware Trio as part of
the Improvised Music Company's International Piano Trio Series at the
National Concert Hall.
For more info, visit:
www.organicsmusic.com |
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