Soul Message Band Live at the Blue LLama

 

Soul Message Band
Live at the Blue LLama
Live at Blue LLama Records

The Blue LLama Jazz Club, located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, launches a new record label, Live at Blue LLama Records. The label will feature live recordings from past performances at the club and studio releases from artists who are frequent performers. The label's initial release is from the superb Chicago jazz organ trio, Soul Message Band. Soul Message Band consists of Hammond B3 organist Chris Foreman, drummer Greg Rockingham, and guitarist Lee Rothenberg. This recording is the group's first live album and features a program in the vein of Jimmy Smith and Richard 'Groove' Holmes.

Foreman and Rockingham have been playing together for a substantial period. With guitarist Bobby Bloom, they constituted the Deep Blue Organ Trio. The two and guitarist Henry Johnson backed the late saxophonist Red Holloway on a 2009 Delmark album. For Delmark, the Soul Message Band, including alto saxophonist Greg Ward, produced the spectacular 2019 recording, "Soulful Days." While Ward is absent on this road recording, this trio is more than capable of making cooking organ jazz.

It is a pretty straightforward set of music opening with Grant Green's "Matador." Foreman opens it with some greasy, bluesy notes before the trio kicks things up a notch and plays tribute to Green in their heated performance with Rothenberg laying down the melody, then a scintillating solo with Foreman laying down his backing while Rockingham swings hard. After the sterling guitar solo, Foreman takes things further and displaying why he is among the greatest living B-3 players. A smoldering, greasy chicken-fried rendition of Jimmy Smith's "Midnight Special" follows as Foreman again pulls out all the stops on this classic organ jazz blues.

An extended interpretation of Louis Bellson's "Easy Time" is followed by an early in the morning groove of Slide Hampton's "Frame For The Blues." A driving rendition of Stanley Turrentine's "Minor Chant" showcases more dazzling playing from Rothenberg and Foreman as well as superb ensemble work. It is a first-rate close to an outstanding recording that is a must-listen for organ jazz lovers.

I received a download to review from a publicist. Here is a video of the Soul Message Band in performance at Andy's Jazz Club in Chicago.

Soul Message Band Soulful Days

Soul Message Band
Soulful Days
Delmark Records

While at the Chicago Blues Festival, a photographer-blues deejay I knew mentioned he was going to catch The Joel Paterson Trio in part because of organist Chris Foreman being part of the trio. I made sure to see a portion of their Festival set to see Foreman, one of the most outstanding Hammond B-3 players in the world. He did not fail to astonish. I was aware of Foreman from his playing as part of the Deep Blue Organ Trio on a Delmark album as well as his playing on a Red Holloway Delmark album. All these albums include drummer Greg Rockingham, and the other member of the Deep Blue Organ Trio is famed guitarist Bobby Broom. Other members of this band include guitarist Lee Rothenberg and Greg Ward on alto sax. Geof Bradford on tenor sax replaces Ward on two of the 9 performances, and both saxophones are heard on one track.

There is some spectacular music to be heard here starting with the strutting blues groove of Rothenberg's "Sir Charles," named for Barkley and then organist Earland. Ward displays a sharp bluesy tone, while Rothenberg shows his facility and taste in constructing his solo. Foreman quickly exhibits why he is among the top practitioners of the Hammond B-3 on the planet, Of course, Foreman and Rockingham have been playing so long together that one should not be surprised how tight the groove they lay down is.

The material range from the blues to hard bop and a standard tossed in. There is Cal Massey's reflective "These Are Soulful Days," with Bradford featured, a terrific rendition of Wayne Shorter's hard bop classic from his Art Blakey days, "Hammer Head," with both saxophones heard with the band's feel evoking Jimmy Smith's classic album "The Sermon." In fact, there is a rousing rendition of Smith's hot blues, "J.O.S." from that album. If not possessing a heavy vibrato like Ben Webster, Bradford is marvelous on a reflective performance of Rodgers and Hart "Little Girl Blue."

A rendition of Freddie Hubbard's "Thermo," another song first done by Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Ward leads off with sparks flying before Foreman takes over with his deep-fried organ grease. It is a marvelous close to this terrific album.

I received my review copy from Delmark. This review appeared in the July-August 2019 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 385). Here is a video of the Soul Message Band performing, and backing a vocalist Hinda Hoffman.