Record of the Day: John Abercrombie, “While We’re Young”

John Abercrombie, “While We’re Young” (Cd ECM 1489)

The tradition of the Organ Combos, as the small jazz groups whose sound had the Hammond organ as its center of gravity were called, has been rooted for decades in the world of improvised music. Historic groups led by Jimmy Smith, Sonny Stitt, Shirley Scott, Grant Green, Lou Donaldson, John Patton, Richard «Groove» Holmes, Don Patterson and many others have demonstrated the versatility that the organ possesses in adapting to the most diverse situations , from the hottest r&b to the most orthodox jazz.

Over the years the phenomenon has diminished greatly, but organists such as Joey De Francesco, Larry Goldings and Dan Wall (who signed this excellent album with guitarist John Abercrombie and drummer Adam Nussbaum) have begun to revitalize interest in this instrument rich in timbral possibilities, also adapting it to a language not necessarily linked to Gospel and blues as previously. In this “While We’re Young”, Wall’s organ pays little or no homage to the classical Hammond tradition, taking inspiration rather from a soloist like Larry Young, whose more abstract language, rich in unusual harmonic superpositions, it was a lesson for the last-minute organists.

Open-minded soloists like Abercrombie and Nussbaum manage to follow him on this path naturally, renewing the usual sound of the organ trio and pushing it towards more risky solutions, avoiding clichés.

“Stormz” and “Carol’s Carol” are pieces with a very open structure, which leave a lot of space for improvisations with always unexpected paths divided between Abercrombie’s filtered and effect-rich solos and the dense harmonic support that Wall expertly lays beneath them, all underlined by Nussbaum’s polyrhythmic excursions, masterful in the use of cymbals and guardian of crystalline sounds, even in the most agitated moments. The quality of the compositions is always very high as in the other beautiful albums made by this trio, “Speak of the Devil” and “Tactics”. It’s really a shame that Abercrombie subsequently turned his curiosity towards other types of instrumental ensemble, but the trilogy created together with these friends remains testimony to the perennial artistic vitality of good old Hammond.

Carlo Boccadoro, composer and conductor, was born in Macerata in 1963. He lives and works in Milan. He collaborates with soloists and orchestras in different parts of the world. He is the author of numerous books on musical topics.

This text is taken from “Lunario della musica: A record for every day of the year” published by Einaudi, courtesy of the author and the publisher.