organissimo does Chicago again!!

[connoisseur series500]

Did you guys record live? and what were some of the tracks on your program?

[Jim Alfredson]

We did. I tried to record the GVU gig this afternoon as well but had a little problem with my computer. I don't remember exactly what we played last night, but I know it included:

Mellow Mood

Jimmy Smith Goes To Washington

Greaze Monkey

Stomp Yo' Feets

Pumpkin Pie

Why Not

Tenderly

That's about all I recall. I'll listen to the stuff this weekend and give a full report.

[connoisseur series500]

"Pumpkin Pie" is a particular gem.

No question about it. It's easily Organissimo's best tune. Should become an organ trio standard!

[randissimo]

There was a photographer taking serious pics during the first set at the Hothouse... I wonder who he was??

[Larry Kart]

Photographer was from the Chicago Tribune. Their jazz critic, Howard Reich, was there, taking notes. A review should run on Friday. I'll keep my eyes open.

[connoisseur series500]

Any news about a return to Baker's? I got a lot of hungry people here waiting to eat their terrific entrees while listening and watching you guys.

[randissimo]

Photographer was from the Chicago Tribune. Their jazz critic, Howard Reich, was there, taking notes. A review should run on Friday. I'll keep my eyes open.

Thanks Larry.. Keep us posted..

[Chuck Nessa]

That's Howard "the Third" Reich according to some. Gotta admit he's been nice to me.

[randissimo]

That's Howard "the Third" Reich according to some. Gotta admit he's been nice to me.

\

Well I hope he's nice to us .. .. What a nice room! And before the gig, I walked over to the "Taste Of Siam" and had some good ass pad thai!

[Joe G]

Any news about a return to Baker's? I got a lot of hungry people here waiting to eat their terrific entrees while listening and watching you guys.

Saturday, January 21st is on the books.

[Chuck Nessa]

Any news about a return to Baker's? I got a lot of hungry people here waiting to eat their terrific entrees while listening and watching you guys.

Saturday, January 21st is on the books.

Gettin' a % of the kitchen Joe?

[GregN]

That's Howard "the Third" Reich according to some. Gotta admit he's been nice to me.

oh oh, that is a little nerve rackin' for sure.

[Joe G]

Any news about a return to Baker's? I got a lot of hungry people here waiting to eat their terrific entrees while listening and watching you guys.

Saturday, January 21st is on the books.

Gettin' a % of the kitchen Joe?

Just a discount on a meal. I'm hungry, too!

[Jim Alfredson]

I'll be curious about the article! Thanks, Larry!

[connoisseur series500]

Any news about a return to Baker's? I got a lot of hungry people here waiting to eat their terrific entrees while listening and watching you guys.

Saturday, January 21st is on the books.

Gettin' a % of the kitchen Joe?

I saw the big chunk of catfish on Brian's plate last time we were there. I want some o' that!!

Edited December 2, 2005 by connoisseur series500

[Chuck Nessa]

I saw the big chunk of catfish on Brian's plate last time we were there. I want some o' that!!

Connie's into bottom feeders.

[connoisseur series500]

I saw the big chunk of catfish on Brian's plate last time we were there. I want some o' that!!

Connie's into bottom feeders.

Not normally. But the people at my table swapped pieces from their orders and the Baker's catfish had the salmon beat by a mile.

What did you have when you were last there, Chuck?

[Peter Johnson]

January 21 at Bakers?

Send word when it's finalized and I'll make it happen.

I am DYING to see y'all live.

Never been to motor city, and can't think of a better reason to do so.

Any news about a return to Baker's? I got a lot of hungry people here waiting to eat their terrific entrees while listening and watching you guys.

Saturday, January 21st is on the books.

[Joe G]

That's great, Peter! Looking forward to it.

[GregN]

January 21 at Bakers?

Send word when it's finalized and I'll make it happen.

I am DYING to see y'all live.

Never been to motor city, and can't think of a better reason to do so.

Any news about a return to Baker's? I got a lot of hungry people here waiting to eat their terrific entrees while listening and watching you guys.

Saturday, January 21st is on the books.

21st is in ink!

[Dan Gould]

Here's the Reich review in today's Tribune:

MUSIC REVIEW

Less is more with organissimo

By Howard Reich

Tribune arts critic

Published December 2, 2005

One way or another, every jazz organist must come to terms with the legacy of Jimmy Smith, who died in February at age 79 but remains the measure by which his successors are judged.

Some, such as the formidable Joey DeFrancesco, aspire to comparable levels of virtuosity and often attain it.

Others, such as Jim Alfredson, who anchors a Michigan-based trio called organissimo, build on Smith's breakthroughs in harmony and color while avoiding comparisons to the master's brilliant technique.

Alfredson and organissimo, in other words, draw an audience's attention with the vivid character of their compositions and the unerring precision of their ensemble playing, not the flash and bravura of the leader's keyboard work. Because Alfredson and his colleagues share a less-is-more musical philosophy, they can be remarkably effective as a unit, as was the case Wednesday night at HotHouse.

When Alfredson, guitarist Joe Gloss and drummer Randy Marsh are in top form, the listener nearly forgets that three distinct voices are at play.

As Alfredson pumps swelling chords, Marsh produces sharply staccato backbeats and Gloss articulates sleekly crafted melody lines. Even during solos, the musicians assist each other with uncommon sensitivity, a space in an Alfredson cadenza punctuated with a quick combination from Marsh's drum kit.

That's not to say, however, that Alfredson can't get around the keys of his Hammond B-3 organ. His right-hand work, in particular, offers ample fluidity, yet even his fast-flying passagework is more impressive for its melodic ingenuity than its speed or technical prowess.

Combine Alfredson's knack for choosing just the right color and tone in any given composition with his colleagues' ability to match his gestures, and you have one of the most promising organ trios in jazz.

Though an original tune such as "Stomp Yo' Feets" easily might have emerged as a caricature of New Orleans street beats, it transcended that cliche thanks to Marsh's ultra-economical rhythms and Alfredson's inventive solos. Drawing upon a broad vocabulary of keyboard devices--from two-handed glissandos to telegraphic chords to buoyant wah-wah effects--Alfredson proved as entertaining as the Crescent City musicians the tune saluted.

The band's best work came in "Mellow Mood," which Smith and Wes Montgomery famously recorded in the mid-1960s. Creating the darkest timbres, subtlest voicings and most insinuating phrases of the evening, organissimo lived up to the tune's name.

If the band was less creative in the standard "Tenderly," if drummer Marsh played harmonica to minimal effect, these moments were the exceptions in an otherwise beguiling show.

A nice review for sure, but I really don't get that last paragraph.

[Jim Alfredson]

uh... I think that one's going on the website. Thanks, Dan!

Anyone in Chicago: Can you pick me up three copies and mail 'em to me? I'll pay for them and postage of course.

Thanks!

[Larry Kart]

To avoid duplication, I'll do this, unless someone else has beaten me to it. Jim, send me your street address in PM. I'll be leaving the house in about an hour or so to run some errands and could put the papers in the mail then.

[Ron S]

January 21 at Bakers?

Send word when it's finalized and I'll make it happen.

I am DYING to see y'all live.

Never been to motor city, and can't think of a better reason to do so.

Tired of waiting for a Philly gig, Peter? Send me a PM with your contact info, and we'll make that happen.

uh... I think that one's going on the website.

And in the press kits.

[Larry Kart]

P.S. As I mentioned to Jim and Joe at Hothouse, I preferred the sound setup at Martyrs and said something about it being a bit drier or more crisp. I've been thinking more about that, and I believe that the key factor is that care must be taken to separate Joe's sound a reasonable amount from Jim's -- tonally and spatially. At Martyrs, the guitar seemed to ride on top of the Hammond like a surfboard on the crest of wave -- a wonderful effect and one that I'm pretty sure is close to what you intend. (The underlying closeness/collaboration of thought between Jim and Joe is a given.) At Hothouse, though, it sounded to me like Joe's sound and Jim's were placed, tonally and spatially, a bit too close to each other; in particular, guitar notes tended to be half-swallowed by the Hammond (this may in part be because Hothouse is a shallower room than Martyrs, though I suspect that Martyrs, which apparently books a lot of rock bands, also had a sound man who's more used to tweaking bands in which most instruments are electronic). Just a thought.