REVIEW:

The Organ Trio
with Ben Castle

The autumn season at the Spin kicked off with a double bill that was a rich taste of the jazz to come between now and Christmas: Jim Mullen’s Organ Trio with Dave Gorman on organ and Matthew Home on drums playing alongside saxophonist Ben Castle.

The inimitable Jim Mullen, one of the grand masters of the British jazz scene, has put together a trio with an unusual line-up as, without a bass player, Gorman on organ has to put in the bass lines in the left hand and solo with the right while Matt Home on drums masterfully keeps the rhythm tight and colourful. Add to that the swing and precision of Mullen whose guitar work is always full of energy and you have something quite special. With Ben Castle, one of the most fluent and inventive saxophonists around, on the stand alongside Mullen there was the promise of an evening of exciting jazz.

The first number, Monk’s quirky In Walked Bud, immediately produced music that grabbed our attention with Castle and Mullen both ripping into solos with the speed and attack called for by the tune with Gorman showing how effortlessly he can produce a sparkling solo with the right hand only. Surprisingly the second number, Smoke Gets in your Eyes, was played at the same pace and the solos rattled out at a somewhat frenetic speed so that by the time everyone had traded fours with Home on drums I smelt the whiff of competition between sax and guitar. But this faded when Castle hit his lyrical stride in the ballad, I fall in love too easily, while Mullen and Gorman raised the dust with a storming version of Blueberry Hill, one of the Organ Trio’s favourites

The highlight of the second half was for me another Monk tune, Monk’s Dream, in which there was a real sense of cooperation and repartee between sax and organ with Gorman responding sensitively to Castle’s solo as he wound around Monk’s harmonies. These are two players who have much to give the jazz world and Castle’s latest CD, Blah Street makes special use of electronics. Mullen drew the evening to a close with his version of the University Challenge theme tune, a fitting end to another excellent gig at the Spin.

© Paul Medley