Folk Music

The "organ trio" format is one of the most venerable and fiercely defended combo configurations in jazz. Organists are generally adamant that no bass is needed, and take pride in being able to provide running basslines themselves using the pedals of the Hammond B3 organ (the preferred instrument in this configuration) while playing melody and chordal accompaniment on the manuals?and soloing, of course. This trio, comprised of organist Chris Foreman, guitarist Bobby Broom, and drummer Greg Rockingham, exhibits its pride in the organ-trio tradition with the title they gave their third album; Folk Music refers both to the length and tenaciousness of that tradition and what they feel is its deep popular appeal. It could also be argued that the title reflects something about the nature of the group's repertoire, which is startlingly catholic and includes tunes taken from the popular songbook of the 1930s ( Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Mercer's "I Thought About You"), from late-1970s funk and R&B (the Ohio Players' "Sweet Sticky Thing," Stephanie Mills' "Never Knew Love Like This Before") and even from the Beatles ("She's Leaving Home"). Like most organ combos, their playing alternates between a bluesy strut, a slow and smoldering funk groove, and a thrilling up-tempo swing?but unlike many, they are also completely convincing in a meditative ballad mode, as particularly exemplified here by their sensitive rendering of "She's Leaving Home." There is a certain lightness to their sound that some will find refreshing and others may consider a sign of shallowness, but combined with the virtuosity that they wear equally lightly, it makes for a very pleasant listen overall.