“A strand of three chords is not easily broken”
Ecclesiastes 4:12
Hammond B3er Brian Ho brings together Paul Bollenback/g and Bryon “ Wookie” Landham/dr for a session that is reminiscent of the vintage Larry Young/Grant Green albums on Blue Note. Ho’s own “Essence” and “Ellisinn” have a mix of soulful pulses with some adventurous harmonies, while “ Bonnie” has a bit of an Irish jig feel. Landham supplies a nice shuffle on “Saving All My Love” and Bollenback’s guitar is razor sharp on the classic “Silver’s Serenade” with the team giving a hip feel to “Just In Time”. In N Out.
It’s fitting that pianist John Lee borrows bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington from Bill Charlap’s long-term team, as Lee has a similar touch and classy style, making this a seamless comparison. There’s a dash of Andre Previn on “It’s A Blue World” and the team gets quite bluesy on “Moonlight In Vermont”, but for the most part, this is an upscale and uptown collection of elegant works, with Washington’s brushes sashaying like Astaire on the rapid “Music Music Music” and lurking around the corner on “Dear Old Stockholm”. Custom fit.
Pianist Bruno Hubert brings together bassist James Meger and drummer Joe Poole for a collection of standards. Hubert’s got a strong left hand, ectomorphically crawling and digging into an earthy “Con Alma” and thoughtful “I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face” while forming confident chords on ”Golden Earrings”. Poole creates clever cadence for “Fire Waltz” and a gospel feel on Way Shorter’s “Edda” with the team sliding across the dance floor on “You and the Night and the Music”. Form fitting.