 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.Their previous release was a live recording called Goin' To Town, takes us to the Green Mill, where they created their sound & have been exciting crowds Tuesday nights for the last 3 years. The companion DVD has concert footage, interviews, and special features. The Tuesday night gig at the Green Mill continues, now it its' fifth year. Visit http://www.deepblueorgantrio.com for more information.
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Saturday, 11 October 2008
