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Goin' To Town, Deep Blue Organ Trio Tuesdays at the Green Mill and Fridays at Andy's |
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Written by Ronaldo Oregano
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Sunday, 16 July 2006 |
 Deep Blue Organ Trio at the Green Mill © Don Berryman
The Deep Blue Organ Trio began its journey in 1992 playing engagements
at Chicago 's Cotton Club and Back Room. At the Cotton Club, a weekly
gig which lasted for two years, the group began to develop its sound
and musical connection. A connection which in large part began in the
1970s, when as teenagers Chris, Greg and Bobby were studying the organ
jazz sounds which would soon become classic.
 Chris Foreman
Organist Chris Foreman's "insistently
swinging, blues-drenched solo lines are dripping with churchified soul
and show a fertile imagination. Foreman stands to advance to the front
ranks of the elite B3 burners on today's scene" -JazzTimes.
Chris Foreman is a masterful
musician and heir to the throne occupied by the soulful, bluesy jazz
organ legends who were once his influence. Blind at birth, Foreman
started playing piano at age five and began formal training at seven.
As a teenager he was attracted to the organ sounds of Jack McDuff,
Groove Holmes, JimmySmith and Jimmy McGriff. This attraction led Chris
to pursue playing jazz on the organ, which he undertook through
intensive study of recordings. Unlike many African-American musicians
whose musical knowledge begins and is established through the church,
Chris didn't start his apprenticeship as a church organist until he was
almost twenty years old - well after his jazz roots were established.
He has arrived at a most exciting blend of blues-gospel and jazz and
has developed a stunning command and range on the instrument. The blend
of his sound is evident in his professional experience, which has
included work with Hank Crawford, Albert Collins, Bernard Purdie and
The Mighty Blue Kings.
 Greg Rockingham © Frank Warren
Drummer Greg Rockingham began
playing when he was just three years old and debuted as a professional
musician at age five in his father's jazz ensemble. An alumnus of the
famed Interlochen Arts Academy and Northeastern University, Greg has
performed or recorded with a wide range of famous names, including the
orchestras of Glenn Miller and Guy Lombardo, vocalists Freddie Cole,
Patty Page and Jerry Vale and instrumentalists Nat Adderley, Kenny
Burrell, Charles Earland and Ellis Marsalis.
"Whether the groove is moody, funky,
or briskly swinging, guitarist Bobby Broom plays a crisp, articulated
attack and wraps his spiraling lines in timbres that glow like
burnished copper" -Guitar Player.
 Bobby Broom at the Green Mill © Don Berryman
The Deep Blue Organ Trio began to realize the positive result of so
much individual and collective experience during their performances in
2001. At that time, with renewed energy and confidence, they vowed to
assert their presence as both ambassadors of the jazz organ trio format
and as musical griots. With each performance they recount tales of the
essence of black music's past travels through Jazz, funk, soul and
R&B, gospel and spirituals. Deep Blue has appeared weekly on
Tuesday nights at Chicago's famed Green Mill Lounge since April 2003.
They also have a 5:00 early show at Andy's on Friday nights.
Visit http://www.deepblueorgantrio.com
for more information.
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 Sunday, 20 July 2008
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