DELVON LAMARR ORGAN TRIO レコード& CD

Review: If you're the fan of the kind of organ-heavy funk made famous by the likes of Jimmy Smith and the Meters, we'd recommend this superb set from Seattle threesome Devon Lamarr Organ Trio. The outfit's third studio album in total (the first landed in 2015), Cold as Weiss naturally acts as a showcase for the virtuoso Hammond B3 playing of Delvon Lamarr, with the talented organist blessing each track with fluid, energetic solos and catchy riffs. His companions Jimmy James (guitar) and Daniel Weiss (drums) provide superb support; throw warming, weighty bass into the mix and you have an inspired collection of deep funk, soul-jazz, jazz-funk and blues instrumentals mostly made with dancefloors in mind.

Review: The Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio are masters of the lost art of music that really makes you feel good without being cheap or cheesy. Making their sound so good is a careful mix of 60s organ jazz a la Jimmy Smith, some soulful strutting that Booker T would be proud of and plenty of sprinkles of Motion or Stax magic. The band is lead by Delvon Lamarr, a self-taught virtuosic musician who light sup each and every track, much like the warm, whirring organs that bring the funk. Expert drums and conversational playing styles all help make this one a real stand out.

Review: We're not sure of the back-story of Devlon Lamarr's eponymous trio, but this debut album for Colemine is an absolute killer. Lamarr is a virtuoso organist, and it's jammed-out Hammond organ and electric piano solos that naturally take centre stage throughout. That said, both drummer David McGraw and guitarist Jimmy James play their part throughout, with the former's ambidextrous fills and the latter's raw licks also catching the ear throughout. Musically, the tracks range from Meters-style heavy funk and lounge soul workouts to a range of cuts more heavily influenced by the blues of John Lee Hooker and the similarly instrumental brilliance of Booker T and the MGs.