by Don Berryman
Fulfilling a lifelong dream, jazz guitarist Dave Stryker, along with B3 organist Jarred Gold and drummer McClenty Hunter, recorded his latest album at Van Gelder Recording Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on July 14, 2025. A hallowed place for audiophiles who savor that clarity and warm sound, the Van Gelder Studio is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Although Rudy Van Gelder is no longer with us his assistant Maureen Sickler and her husband Don have taken over the operation to keep it preserved. Maureen Sickler was the recording engineer for Blue Fire The Van Gelder Session and it sounds fantastic.
Dave Stryker’s first big break came when he joined Brother Jack McDuff’s band and toured with him in the mid 80’s. McDuff was credited for giving George Benson his first big break too; it is fitting that Stryker, who cites Benson as an early influence, followed a similar path. He then joined jazz legend Stanley Turrentine’s band with whom he toured for the next 10 years adding more depth to his soul-jazz and hard-bop chops. Stryker led his own groups and recorded more than 35 albums. He has been continually listed as one of the Top Ten Guitarists by DownBeat magazine Readers and Critics’ Poll for the past quarter century.
Stryker has recorded with many jazz organists, including Larry Gouldings and the late great Joey DeFrancesco. He formed his trio with organist Jared Gold and McClenty Hunter over two decades ago, and they recorded over a dozen albums together.
Jared Gold is well schooled in the jazz organ tradition being strongly influenced by Larry Young, Jack McDuff, and Don Patterson; he has built upon that tradition and has truly developed his own sound with an incredible groove and surprising harmonies that transcend the idiom. The organ is indeed the engine of the trio and Gold locks in with McClenty Hunter and makes it very enjoyable. You never feel that you’ve heard it all before.
From burners t ballads on this album, this trio is a well oiled machine that delivers a satisfying groove. The opening track. “Van Gelder’s Place” penned by Stryker has the feel of a Jack McDuff style composition and it swings hard and when it gets to Gold’s solo he tears it up. The title track is another burner in which the intricate, almost proggy melody is doubled on guitar and organ and then Stryker delivers an inspired solo offering shades of Grant Green. On the Lennon/McCartney ballad “The Fool On The Hill” Stryker evokes echoes of Wes Montgomery. They then deliver a boppish rendition of Charlie Parker’s “Dexterity”. But I think my favorite track is Stryker’s. “Every Dark St.” It is a relaxed groove with a two in the morning kind of vibe and pleasing guitar work..
In the liner notes Stryker says, “This recording was a longtime dream for me. I had always wanted to record at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio but never got the chance when he was alive. Thankfully, Rudy’s assistant Maureen Sickler and her husband Don have taken over the operation to keep it preserved. When you walk into this amazing space, the history, not to mention the incredibly warm sound of the huge room, are palpable. Given the story of Van Gelder’s—all the Blue Note and CTI records and of course Coltrane’s A Love Supreme—it would’ve been easy to be overwhelmed. However, with my 20-year working trio of Jared Gold (playing the original Jimmy Smith/Larry Young Hammond organ) and McClenty Hunter on drums, we were inspired and captured some of the magic. We can now add Blue Fire to the long list of albums recorded at this legendary temple of jazz.”
Track listing:
- VAN GELDER’S PLACE – Dave Stryker (6:11)
- BLUE FIRE – Dave Stryker (6:13)
- THE FOOL ON THE HILL – Lennon/McCartney (5:26)
- DEXTERITY – Charlie Parker (7:32)
- WAITING FOR RUBY – Dave Stryker (7:03)
- BACK AND FORTH – Jared Gold (5:40)
- THE FOLKS WHO LIVE ON THE HILL – Jerome Kern (7:04)
- EVERY DARK ST. – Dave Stryker (4:50)
- SUMMER NIGHT – Warren/Dubin (6:56)
Link to original article: https://www.jazzpolice.com/archives/20413
