Organ trio
Encyclopedia
An organ trio, in a jazz
context, is a group of three jazz musicians, typically consisting of a Hammond organ
player, a drummer
, and either a jazz guitarist
or a saxophone
player. In some cases the saxophonist will join a trio which consists of an organist, guitarist, and drummer, making it a quartet
. Organ trios were a popular type of jazz ensemble for club and bar settings in the 1950s and 1960s, performing a blues
-based style of jazz that incorporated elements of R&B
. The organ trio format was characterized by long improvised solos and an exploration of different musical "moods".
In organ trios, the Hammond organist plays several roles, including playing the basslines (either on the bass pedalboard or on the lower manual
of the organ), playing chords ("comping"), and playing lead melodic lines and solos. In organ trios with a guitarist, the guitarist usually 'fills in' the musical parts that the organist is not performing. For example, if the organist is soloing and playing a bassline, the guitarist may play chords.
Organ trios of the 1950s and 1960s often played soul jazz
, a groove-infused style that incorporated blues
, gospel
and rhythm and blues
. 1970s-era organ trios such as Tony Williams' band Lifetime
played jazz-rock fusion. In the 1990s and 2000s, organ trios such as Medeski, Martin and Wood (MMW) also mixed in elements of Phish
-influenced jam band
grooves.
and Count Basie
explored the use of organ in jazz ensembles in the 1920s and 1930s, it was not until the late 1940s that Hammond players such as Wild Bill Davis
pioneered the organ trio format. Musicians such as Davis and the Milt Herth
Trio realized that the amplified Hammond B3 organ "...put the power of a full-sized big band in the hands of one musician”, with the rotating Leslie speaker
-equipped amplified cabinet adding a room-filling, “king-sized sound.”
According to Tom Vicker, the "...most famous of the early [organ trio] grinders was Philadelphia's Bill Doggett
, who recorded instrumentals for King Records in the early Fifties." The next organists to come along were Hank Marr
, Dave "Baby" Cortez, Jimmy McGriff
, and then the "bossest organ swinger yet, Jimmy Smith
." After Smith's death in 2005, Variety magazine writer Phil Gallo eulogized Smith as a man who "[s]ingle-handedly reinvented the Hammond B3 organ for jazz and created the model for the organ trio."
During the 1960s, jazz guitarists such as Howard Roberts
, Grant Green
, Kenny Burrell
, George Benson
, and Wes Montgomery
often performed in organ trios, and organ trio recordings often made the R&B and pop charts. Hammond organ players such as Jimmy Smith
and Jack McDuff
often performed and recorded in organ trios. The "...body of work by the leaders in the organ trio idiom in its heyday has been well documented, owing to the fact during that era, based on record sales, the organ groups -- most significantly those led by Jimmy Smith -- represented perhaps the most popular genre of jazz." Guitarist Grant Green performed a blend of jazz,funk, and boogaloo
", collaborating frequently with organists Big John Patton, Jack McDuff, and Earl Neal Creque and with drummer Idris Muhammad
.
In the late 1960s, as jazz musicians began to explore the new genre of jazz-rock fusion
, organ trios led by organists such as Larry Young "... ventured into more remote territory, expanding the harmonic palette of the organ trio form." Young pioneered a new approach to playing the Hammond B3. In contrast to Jimmy Smith's blues-influenced soul-jazz style, in which songs were structured over chord progressions, Young favored a modal
approach to playing, in which songs were based on musical modes rather than chord progressions.
, and small ensembles increasingly used electronic keyboards such as Moog synthesizer
and Juno synthesizers in place of the Hammond organ. Synthesizers allowed musicians to make new electronic sounds that were not possible on the electromechanical Hammond organs. Emerson, Lake & Palmer
was one organ trio that successfully branched between the changing times between their debut performances in 1970 towards the end of the decade, with Keith Emerson
on the Hammond B3 organ, Greg Lake
on either the guitar or bass guitar, and Carl Palmer
on drums; Emerson was one of the earliest in moving into synthetic sound. Veteran Hammond players such as Emerson and Charles Earland
began using synthesizers to "update" their sound to the pop-disco
styles of the late 1970s.
There were a small number of well-known organ trios during the 1970s. John Abercrombie
had a futuristic-sounding organ trio with Jan Hammer
on Hammond and Moog bass, and Jack Dejohnette on drums. Tony Williams' fusion band Lifetime, which lasted from 1969 to 1975, was an organ trio with John McLaughlin
on guitar and Larry Young on organ. Lifetime was a pioneering band of the fusion movement, combining rock, R&B, and jazz.
, aimed to recapture the traditional sounds and blues-influenced jazz feel of the 1960s organ trios of Jimmy Smith and Jack McDuff. Another example can be found in the Deep Blue Organ Trio
, a Chicago group which has recorded two albums for Delmark Records. Also the Danish organ trio, Ibrahim Electric
, is still exploring different kind of developments from jazz, such as afro-beat, and Boogaloo with a strong blues traditional influence, but with the main focus on the Hammond B-3 played by Jeppe Tuxen. In 2007 Steve Howe
created the Steve Howe Trio
, inspired mainly by Kenny Burrell.
and Big Organ Trio
mix jazz with a range of different styles such as 1970s soul jazz
and Phish
-influenced jam band
grooves. MMW use a variation of the organ trio format, since the band includes Hammond organ, upright bass and drums. The New York organ trio Darediablo
blends funk, progressive rock, fusion, and hard rock into a heavy, riff-laden sound. More rarely, some blues
bands use the organ trio format, such as the UK band led by guitarist Matt Schofield
(the Matt Schofield Trio's organist is Jonny Henderson
).
An unusual example of an organ trio-influenced performer is Charlie Hunter
, who uses a customized 8-string guitar
to emulate the role and sound of a Hammond Organ
. He performs bass lines on his guitar's three electric bass
-range strings, while playing chords and melody lines on the higher strings. In the mid-2000s, saxophonist/bass-clarinettist/flutist James Carter
has performed and recorded modern and more traditional jazz, with his James Carter Organ Trio, with Gerard Gibbs on Hammond B-3 and Leonard King on drums. These recordings include 'Out of nowhere' and 'Live at Baker's Keyboard Lounge', both of 2004, and Leonard King's 'Extending the language' of 2005.
The organ trio style has also been associated with soul jazz
, a development of hard bop
which incorporated strong influences from blues
, gospel
and rhythm and blues
. However, unlike hard bop
, soul jazz generally emphasized repetitive grooves and melodic hooks, and its improvisation
s were often less complex than in other jazz styles.
Music critics discussing 1990s and 2000s-era organ trios often refer to how a modern-day group is positioned vis-à-vis the "organ trio tradition" of the 1950s and 1960s. For example, John Koenig's review of guitarist Rick Zunigar's organ trio recordings notes that Zunigar's "...conception of the organ trio gives us a present-day look at the genre, filtered through all of the tradition of the past, but also infused with other influences and trends that have their roots in the major jazz movements of the last 30 years."
ist, and a drummer. For example, organist Shirley Scott
had an organ trio that included a bass player and a drummer. In some cases, a fourth musician will be added to a traditional organ trio, such as a saxophone
player or vocalist. In this case, the group may be billed as "saxophone player and organ trio" or "singer and organ trio." For example, reviewer Dan McClenaghan, from All About Jazz, said that "...a fine organ trio [was] backing a talented saxophonist" in one of tenor saxophonist David Sills' recordings. Describing these four-musician ensembles as a "trio plus one", instead of as a quartet, may appear to be a misnomer.
However, this approach can be justified because there are different musical styles and traditions associated with different types of jazz ensembles. As such, if a concert is billed as a jazz quartet (e.g. a saxophone and a rhythm section), the audience has expectations about the repertoire and musical styles than if a concert is billed as an organ trio with a saxophone. There are specific musical styles, genres, and traditions that are associated with the 1950s/1960s era of organ trio playing (see section above entitled Organ trio as a musical style or tradition for more details).
composers from the 17th century and early 18th century wrote many organ works called trio sonata
s, often based on chorale prelude
melodies. These organ trio sonata compositions are sometimes referred to as "organ trios." Bach’s organ trio sonatas are written for a single instrument—the baroque pipe organ
. They are nonetheless called trio sonatas because they are written in three independent melodic lines, or "voices". To help the audience hear the three different melodic lines, Bach indicated that the trio sonatas should be performed on two separate manuals (organ keyboards), with the bass pedalboard supplying the third, lower part. To further help the audience to hear the different upper melodic lines, organists typically use different registration
s for each manual by selecting different organ stop
s. For example, an organist might give the upper melodic line a high-sounding oboe-type stop, and the lower melodic line a mellow "tibia" stop.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
context, is a group of three jazz musicians, typically consisting of a Hammond organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
player, a drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
, and either a jazz guitarist
Jazz guitarist
Jazz guitarists are guitar players who play jazz music on the guitar using an approach to playing chords, melodies, and improvised solo lines which is called jazz guitar playing. The guitar has fulfilled the roles of accompanist and soloist in small and large ensembles and also as an unaccompanied...
or a saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
player. In some cases the saxophonist will join a trio which consists of an organist, guitarist, and drummer, making it a quartet
Quartet
In music, a quartet is a method of instrumentation , used to perform a musical composition, and consisting of four parts.-Western art music:...
. Organ trios were a popular type of jazz ensemble for club and bar settings in the 1950s and 1960s, performing a blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
-based style of jazz that incorporated elements of R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
. The organ trio format was characterized by long improvised solos and an exploration of different musical "moods".
In organ trios, the Hammond organist plays several roles, including playing the basslines (either on the bass pedalboard or on the lower manual
Manual (music)
A manual is a keyboard designed to be played with the hands on a pipe organ, harpsichord, clavichord, electronic organ, or synthesizer. The term "manual" is used with regard to any hand keyboard on these instruments to distinguish it from the pedalboard, which is a keyboard that the organist plays...
of the organ), playing chords ("comping"), and playing lead melodic lines and solos. In organ trios with a guitarist, the guitarist usually 'fills in' the musical parts that the organist is not performing. For example, if the organist is soloing and playing a bassline, the guitarist may play chords.
Organ trios of the 1950s and 1960s often played soul jazz
Soul jazz
Soul jazz is a development of jazz incorporating strong influences from blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues in music for small groups, often an organ trio featuring a Hammond organ.- Overview :Soul jazz is often associated with hard bop. Mark C...
, a groove-infused style that incorporated blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
and rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
. 1970s-era organ trios such as Tony Williams' band Lifetime
The Tony Williams Lifetime
The Tony Williams Lifetime was a jazz-rock fusion group led by jazz drummer Tony Williams.-Original line-up:The Tony Williams Lifetime was founded in 1969 as a power trio with John McLaughlin on electric guitar, and Larry Young on organ. The band was possibly named for Williams' debut album as a...
played jazz-rock fusion. In the 1990s and 2000s, organ trios such as Medeski, Martin and Wood (MMW) also mixed in elements of Phish
Phish
Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...
-influenced jam band
Jam band
-Ambiguity:By the late 1990s use of the term jam band also became ambiguous. An editorial at jamband.com suggested that any band of which a primary band such as Phish has done a cover of be included as jam band. The example was including New York post-punk band Talking Heads after Phish performed...
grooves.
Pre-1950s
While jazz musicians such as Fats WallerFats Waller
Fats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...
and Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
explored the use of organ in jazz ensembles in the 1920s and 1930s, it was not until the late 1940s that Hammond players such as Wild Bill Davis
Wild Bill Davis
Wild Bill Davis was the stage name of American jazz pianist, organist, and arranger William Strethen Davis.Davis was born in Glasgow, Missouri...
pioneered the organ trio format. Musicians such as Davis and the Milt Herth
Milt Herth
Milton "Milt" Herth was an American jazz organist, known for his work on the Hammond organ soon after it was introduced in 1935. Herth's work is available from his recordings of the 1930s and 1940s.-Biography:...
Trio realized that the amplified Hammond B3 organ "...put the power of a full-sized big band in the hands of one musician”, with the rotating Leslie speaker
Leslie speaker
The Leslie speaker is a specially constructed amplifier/loudspeaker used to create special audio effects using the Doppler effect. Named after its inventor, Donald Leslie, it is particularly associated with the Hammond organ but is used with a variety of instruments as well as vocals. The...
-equipped amplified cabinet adding a room-filling, “king-sized sound.”
1950s–1960s
In the 1950s and 1960s, the organ trio became a common musical ensemble in bars and taverns in the US, especially in downtown areas of major cities. Organ trios used the powerful amplified sound of the Hammond organ, and its ability to fill multiple musical roles (basslines, chords, and lead lines), to fill a bar or club with a volume of sound that would have previously required a much larger ensemble. While bar owners liked this money-saving aspect of the organ trio, the format also had a number of musical advantages. The organ trio was a more intimate, smaller ensemble, which facilitated communication between musicians, and allowed more freedom for spontaneous changes of mood or tempo, and for "stretching out" on extended solos.According to Tom Vicker, the "...most famous of the early [organ trio] grinders was Philadelphia's Bill Doggett
Bill Doggett
Bill Doggett was an American jazz and rhythm and blues pianist and organist. He is best known for his tracks, "Honky Tonk" and "Hippy Dippy", and variously working with The Ink Spots, Johnny Otis, Wynonie Harris, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Jordan.-Biography:William Ballard Doggett was born in...
, who recorded instrumentals for King Records in the early Fifties." The next organists to come along were Hank Marr
Hank Marr
Hank Marr was a soul jazz and hard bop Hammond B3 organist and pianist born in Columbus, Ohio, probably best known for his many albums recorded under his own name for the Double-time record label....
, Dave "Baby" Cortez, Jimmy McGriff
Jimmy McGriff
James Harrell McGriff was an American hard bop and soul-jazz organist and organ trio bandleader who developed a distinctive style of playing the Hammond B-3 organ.-Early years and influences:...
, and then the "bossest organ swinger yet, Jimmy Smith
Jimmy Smith (musician)
Jimmy Smith was a jazz musician whose performances on the Hammond B-3 electric organ helped to popularize this instrument...
." After Smith's death in 2005, Variety magazine writer Phil Gallo eulogized Smith as a man who "[s]ingle-handedly reinvented the Hammond B3 organ for jazz and created the model for the organ trio."
During the 1960s, jazz guitarists such as Howard Roberts
Howard Roberts
Howard Roberts was an American jazz guitarist, educator and session musician.-Biography:Roberts was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and began playing guitar at age 8. By the time he was 15 he was playing professionally locally....
, Grant Green
Grant Green
Grant Green was a jazz guitarist and composer....
, Kenny Burrell
Kenny Burrell
Kenneth Earl "Kenny" Burrell is an American jazz guitarist. His playing is grounded in bebop and blues; he has performed and recorded with a wide range of jazz musicians.-Biography:...
, George Benson
George Benson
George Benson is a ten Grammy Award winning American musician, whose production career began at the age of twenty-one as a jazz guitarist....
, and Wes Montgomery
Wes Montgomery
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. He is widely considered one of the major jazz guitarists, emerging after such seminal figures as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian and influencing countless others, including Pat Martino, George Benson, Russell Malone, Emily...
often performed in organ trios, and organ trio recordings often made the R&B and pop charts. Hammond organ players such as Jimmy Smith
Jimmy Smith (musician)
Jimmy Smith was a jazz musician whose performances on the Hammond B-3 electric organ helped to popularize this instrument...
and Jack McDuff
Jack McDuff
"Brother" Jack McDuff was an American jazz organist and organ trio bandleader who was most prominent during the hard bop and soul jazz era of the 1960s, often performing with an organ trio.-Career:...
often performed and recorded in organ trios. The "...body of work by the leaders in the organ trio idiom in its heyday has been well documented, owing to the fact during that era, based on record sales, the organ groups -- most significantly those led by Jimmy Smith -- represented perhaps the most popular genre of jazz." Guitarist Grant Green performed a blend of jazz,funk, and boogaloo
Boogaloo
Boogaloo or bugalú is a genre of Latin music and dance that was popular in the United States in the 1960s. Boogaloo originated in New York City among teenage Cubans, Puerto Ricans and other groups. The style was a fusion of popular African American R&B and soul with mambo and son montuno...
", collaborating frequently with organists Big John Patton, Jack McDuff, and Earl Neal Creque and with drummer Idris Muhammad
Idris Muhammad
Idris Muhammad is a jazz drummer. He changed his name in the 1960s upon his conversion to Islam. He is known for his funky playing style. He has released a number of albums as leader, and has played with a number of jazz legends including Lou Donaldson, Johnny Griffin, Pharoah Sanders and Grover...
.
In the late 1960s, as jazz musicians began to explore the new genre of jazz-rock fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
, organ trios led by organists such as Larry Young "... ventured into more remote territory, expanding the harmonic palette of the organ trio form." Young pioneered a new approach to playing the Hammond B3. In contrast to Jimmy Smith's blues-influenced soul-jazz style, in which songs were structured over chord progressions, Young favored a modal
Modal jazz
Modal jazz is jazz that uses musical modes rather than chord progressions as a harmonic framework. Originating in the late 1950s and 1960s, modal jazz is characterized by Miles Davis's "Milestones" Kind of Blue and John Coltrane's classic quartet from 1960–64. Other important performers include...
approach to playing, in which songs were based on musical modes rather than chord progressions.
1970s–1980s
In the 1970s, the 1960s-style organ trios based around a Hammond organ were eclipsed by the new trend of jazz-rock fusionJazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
, and small ensembles increasingly used electronic keyboards such as Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
and Juno synthesizers in place of the Hammond organ. Synthesizers allowed musicians to make new electronic sounds that were not possible on the electromechanical Hammond organs. Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer, also known as ELP, are an English progressive rock supergroup. They found success in the 1970s and sold over forty million albums and headlined large stadium concerts. The band consists of Keith Emerson , Greg Lake and Carl Palmer...
was one organ trio that successfully branched between the changing times between their debut performances in 1970 towards the end of the decade, with Keith Emerson
Keith Emerson
Keith Noel Emerson is an English keyboard player and composer. Formerly a member of the Keith Emerson Trio, John Brown's Bodies, The T-Bones, V.I.P.s, P.P. Arnold's backing band, and The Nice , he was a founder of Emerson, Lake & Palmer , one of the early supergroups, in 1970...
on the Hammond B3 organ, Greg Lake
Greg Lake
Gregory Stuart "Greg" Lake is an English musician, songwriter and producer, best known as a vocalist and bassist of King Crimson, and the bassist, guitarist, vocalist, and lyricist of Emerson, Lake & Palmer.-1960s: King Crimson:...
on either the guitar or bass guitar, and Carl Palmer
Carl Palmer
Carl Frederick Kendall Palmer is an English drummer and percussionist. He is credited as one of the most respected rock drummers to emerge from the 1960s...
on drums; Emerson was one of the earliest in moving into synthetic sound. Veteran Hammond players such as Emerson and Charles Earland
Charles Earland
Charles Earland was an American jazz composer, organist, and saxophonist in the soul jazz idiom.-Biography:...
began using synthesizers to "update" their sound to the pop-disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
styles of the late 1970s.
There were a small number of well-known organ trios during the 1970s. John Abercrombie
John Abercrombie (guitarist)
John Abercrombie is an American jazz guitarist, whose work often explores jazz fusion and post bop. Abercrombie has played with Billy Cobham, Jack DeJohnette, Michael Brecker and Randy Brecker...
had a futuristic-sounding organ trio with Jan Hammer
Jan Hammer
Jan Hammer is a composer, pianist and keyboardist. He first gained his most visible audience while playing keyboards with the Mahavishnu Orchestra in the early 1970s, as well as his film scores for television and film including "Miami Vice Theme" and "Crockett's Theme", from the popular 1980s...
on Hammond and Moog bass, and Jack Dejohnette on drums. Tony Williams' fusion band Lifetime, which lasted from 1969 to 1975, was an organ trio with John McLaughlin
John McLaughlin (musician)
John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
on guitar and Larry Young on organ. Lifetime was a pioneering band of the fusion movement, combining rock, R&B, and jazz.
"Traditional" groups
In the 1990s and 2000s, there has been a revival of organ trios. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, before his death in 2005, Jimmy Smith had a comeback, recording albums and playing in clubs. Some groups, such as the organ trio led by the Jimmy Smith-mentored Hammond player Joey DeFrancescoJoey DeFrancesco
Joey DeFrancesco is an American jazz organist, trumpeter, and vocalist. Down Beat's Critics and Readers Poll selected him as the top jazz organist every year since 2003.DeFrancesco was born in Springfield, Pennsylvania...
, aimed to recapture the traditional sounds and blues-influenced jazz feel of the 1960s organ trios of Jimmy Smith and Jack McDuff. Another example can be found in the Deep Blue Organ Trio
Deep Blue Organ Trio
The Deep Blue Organ Trio is a Chicago based jazz organ trio made up of jazz guitarist Bobby Broom, Hammond B3 organist Chris Foreman and drummer Greg Rockingham...
, a Chicago group which has recorded two albums for Delmark Records. Also the Danish organ trio, Ibrahim Electric
Ibrahim Electric
Ibrahim Electric is a Danish band situated primarily in Copenhagen, Denmark. Ibrahim Electric are widely famous in Denmark for their experimental music, many genres, including jazz, funk, afro-beat, surf and many more...
, is still exploring different kind of developments from jazz, such as afro-beat, and Boogaloo with a strong blues traditional influence, but with the main focus on the Hammond B-3 played by Jeppe Tuxen. In 2007 Steve Howe
Steve Howe (guitarist)
Stephen James "Steve" Howe is an English guitarist, known for his work with the progressive rock group Yes...
created the Steve Howe Trio
Steve Howe Trio
The Steve Howe Trio is an English jazz trio led by the famous guitarist from Yes and Asia, Steve Howe. It was formed in 2007 by Steve, his son Dylan Howe on drums and Ross Stanley on Hammond organ....
, inspired mainly by Kenny Burrell.
Other types
Organ trios such as Medeski, Martin and Wood (MMW) , SouliveSoulive
Soulive is a funk/jazz trio that originated in Woodstock, New York, and is known for its solos and catchy, upbeat songs. The band consists of Eric Krasno , Alan Evans , Neal Evans...
and Big Organ Trio
Mike Mangan (musician)
Mike Mangan is an American keyboard player from Los Angeles, California who specializes in the Hammond B3 Organ. Mangan is known for his percussive playing technique and his use of effects pedals on the Hammond Organ....
mix jazz with a range of different styles such as 1970s soul jazz
Soul jazz
Soul jazz is a development of jazz incorporating strong influences from blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues in music for small groups, often an organ trio featuring a Hammond organ.- Overview :Soul jazz is often associated with hard bop. Mark C...
and Phish
Phish
Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...
-influenced jam band
Jam band
-Ambiguity:By the late 1990s use of the term jam band also became ambiguous. An editorial at jamband.com suggested that any band of which a primary band such as Phish has done a cover of be included as jam band. The example was including New York post-punk band Talking Heads after Phish performed...
grooves. MMW use a variation of the organ trio format, since the band includes Hammond organ, upright bass and drums. The New York organ trio Darediablo
Darediablo
Darediablo is an instrumental rock trio from New York City. They draw influences from such 1970s heavy metal bands as Black Sabbath and AC/DC, their bassist/guitarist often wearing an AC/DC T-Shirt...
blends funk, progressive rock, fusion, and hard rock into a heavy, riff-laden sound. More rarely, some blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
bands use the organ trio format, such as the UK band led by guitarist Matt Schofield
Matt Schofield
Matt Schofield is an English blues guitarist and singer, whose music blends blues with rock and funky jazz rhythms....
(the Matt Schofield Trio's organist is Jonny Henderson
Jonny Henderson
Jonny Henderson is a British keyboard player most known for his work on the Hammond Organ. He has been voted Keyboard Player of the Year in both the 2010 and 2011 British Blues Awards....
).
An unusual example of an organ trio-influenced performer is Charlie Hunter
Charlie Hunter
for the New Zealand racehorse trainer and driver see: Charlie HunterCharlie Hunter is an American guitarist, composer and bandleader....
, who uses a customized 8-string guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
to emulate the role and sound of a Hammond Organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
. He performs bass lines on his guitar's three electric bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
-range strings, while playing chords and melody lines on the higher strings. In the mid-2000s, saxophonist/bass-clarinettist/flutist James Carter
James Carter (musician)
James Carter is an American jazz musician.Carter was born in Detroit, Michigan and learned to play there before moving to New York City. He has been prominent as a performer and recording artist on the jazz scene since the mid-1990s, playing saxophones, flute, and bass clarinet...
has performed and recorded modern and more traditional jazz, with his James Carter Organ Trio, with Gerard Gibbs on Hammond B-3 and Leonard King on drums. These recordings include 'Out of nowhere' and 'Live at Baker's Keyboard Lounge', both of 2004, and Leonard King's 'Extending the language' of 2005.
As a musical style or tradition
While the term "organ trio" is typically a reference to a type of small ensemble, the term "organ trio" is also used to refer to the musical styles, genres, and tradition of the 1950s/1960s era of organ trio playing. Although the components of the "organ trio tradition" are a subject of debate, the 1950s/1960s organ trio style tends to have more blues influences than other small-group jazz from this era, and it often blurs the lines between blues, R&B, and jazz. As well, organ trios tend to be focused on, or built around the sound of the organ.The organ trio style has also been associated with soul jazz
Soul jazz
Soul jazz is a development of jazz incorporating strong influences from blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues in music for small groups, often an organ trio featuring a Hammond organ.- Overview :Soul jazz is often associated with hard bop. Mark C...
, a development of hard bop
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
which incorporated strong influences from blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
and rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
. However, unlike hard bop
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
, soul jazz generally emphasized repetitive grooves and melodic hooks, and its improvisation
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
s were often less complex than in other jazz styles.
Music critics discussing 1990s and 2000s-era organ trios often refer to how a modern-day group is positioned vis-à-vis the "organ trio tradition" of the 1950s and 1960s. For example, John Koenig's review of guitarist Rick Zunigar's organ trio recordings notes that Zunigar's "...conception of the organ trio gives us a present-day look at the genre, filtered through all of the tradition of the past, but also infused with other influences and trends that have their roots in the major jazz movements of the last 30 years."
Variant forms
More rarely, an organ trio might consist of a Hammond organist and two jazz guitarists, or a Hammond organist, a double bassDouble bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
ist, and a drummer. For example, organist Shirley Scott
Shirley Scott
Shirley Scott was an American hard bop and soul-jazz organist. She was most known for working with her husband, Stanley Turrentine, and with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis...
had an organ trio that included a bass player and a drummer. In some cases, a fourth musician will be added to a traditional organ trio, such as a saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
player or vocalist. In this case, the group may be billed as "saxophone player and organ trio" or "singer and organ trio." For example, reviewer Dan McClenaghan, from All About Jazz, said that "...a fine organ trio [was] backing a talented saxophonist" in one of tenor saxophonist David Sills' recordings. Describing these four-musician ensembles as a "trio plus one", instead of as a quartet, may appear to be a misnomer.
However, this approach can be justified because there are different musical styles and traditions associated with different types of jazz ensembles. As such, if a concert is billed as a jazz quartet (e.g. a saxophone and a rhythm section), the audience has expectations about the repertoire and musical styles than if a concert is billed as an organ trio with a saxophone. There are specific musical styles, genres, and traditions that are associated with the 1950s/1960s era of organ trio playing (see section above entitled Organ trio as a musical style or tradition for more details).
Baroque-era works for solo organ
J.S. Bach and other BaroqueBaroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
composers from the 17th century and early 18th century wrote many organ works called trio sonata
Trio sonata
The trio sonata is a musical form that was popular in the 17th and early 18th centuries.A trio sonata is written for two solo melodic instruments and basso continuo, making three parts in all, hence the name trio sonata...
s, often based on chorale prelude
Chorale prelude
In music, a chorale prelude is a short liturgical composition for organ using a chorale tune as its basis. It was a predominant style of the German Baroque era and reached its culmination in the works of J.S. Bach, who wrote 46 examples of the form in his Orgelbüchlein.-Function:The liturgical...
melodies. These organ trio sonata compositions are sometimes referred to as "organ trios." Bach’s organ trio sonatas are written for a single instrument—the baroque pipe organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
. They are nonetheless called trio sonatas because they are written in three independent melodic lines, or "voices". To help the audience hear the three different melodic lines, Bach indicated that the trio sonatas should be performed on two separate manuals (organ keyboards), with the bass pedalboard supplying the third, lower part. To further help the audience to hear the different upper melodic lines, organists typically use different registration
Registration (organ)
Registration is the technique of choosing and combining the stops of a pipe organ in order to produce a particular sound. Registration can also refer to a particular combination of stops...
s for each manual by selecting different organ stop
Organ stop
An organ stop is a component of a pipe organ that admits pressurized air to a set of organ pipes. Its name comes from the fact that stops can be used selectively by the organist; some can be "on" , while others can be "off" .The term can also refer...
s. For example, an organist might give the upper melodic line a high-sounding oboe-type stop, and the lower melodic line a mellow "tibia" stop.
Hammond organists who perform in trios
- Milt BucknerMilt BucknerMilt Buckner was an American jazz pianist and organist, originally from St. Louis, Missouri. He was orphaned as a child, but an uncle in Detroit taught him to play...
- Joey DeFrancescoJoey DeFrancescoJoey DeFrancesco is an American jazz organist, trumpeter, and vocalist. Down Beat's Critics and Readers Poll selected him as the top jazz organist every year since 2003.DeFrancesco was born in Springfield, Pennsylvania...
- Bill DoggettBill DoggettBill Doggett was an American jazz and rhythm and blues pianist and organist. He is best known for his tracks, "Honky Tonk" and "Hippy Dippy", and variously working with The Ink Spots, Johnny Otis, Wynonie Harris, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Jordan.-Biography:William Ballard Doggett was born in...
- Charles EarlandCharles EarlandCharles Earland was an American jazz composer, organist, and saxophonist in the soul jazz idiom.-Biography:...
- Larry GoldingsLarry Goldings-Life and career:Goldings was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His father was a classical music enthusiast, and Larry studied classical piano until the age of twelve. While in high school at Concord Academy, he attended a program at the Eastman School of Music. During this period Erroll Garner,...
- Milt HerthMilt HerthMilton "Milt" Herth was an American jazz organist, known for his work on the Hammond organ soon after it was introduced in 1935. Herth's work is available from his recordings of the 1930s and 1940s.-Biography:...
- Booker T. JonesBooker T. JonesBooker T. Jones is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. and the MGs. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, earning him a Grammy Award for lifetime...
- Richard "Groove" HolmesRichard Holmes (organist)Richard Arnold "Groove" Holmes was an American jazz organist who performed in the hard bop and soul jazz genre...
- Les McCannLes McCannLes McCann is an American soul jazz piano player and vocalist whose biggest successes came as a crossover artist into R&B and soul.-Biography:...
- "Brother" Jack McDuffJack McDuff"Brother" Jack McDuff was an American jazz organist and organ trio bandleader who was most prominent during the hard bop and soul jazz era of the 1960s, often performing with an organ trio.-Career:...
- Jimmy McGriffJimmy McGriffJames Harrell McGriff was an American hard bop and soul-jazz organist and organ trio bandleader who developed a distinctive style of playing the Hammond B-3 organ.-Early years and influences:...
- John MedeskiJohn MedeskiAnthony John Medeski is an American jazz keyboards player and composer. Medeski is a veteran of New York's 1990s avant-garde jazz scene and is known popularly as a member of Medeski Martin & Wood...
- "Big" John PattonJohn Patton (musician)John Patton , sometimes nicknamed Big John Patton, was a hard bop and soul jazz organist....
- Melvin RhyneMelvin RhyneMelvin Rhyne , is a jazz organist best known for his work with Wes Montgomery.-Early Years:Melvin Rhyne was born in Indianapolis in 1936 and started playing the piano shortly thereafter...
(with the Wes Montgomery trio) - Shirley ScottShirley ScottShirley Scott was an American hard bop and soul-jazz organist. She was most known for working with her husband, Stanley Turrentine, and with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis...
- Lonnie SmithLonnie Smith (jazz musician)Dr. Lonnie Smith is a jazz Hammond B3 organist and pianist.-Biography:He was born in Lackawanna, New York, into a family with a vocal group and radio program. Smith says that his mother was a major influence on him musically, as she introduced him to gospel, classical, and jazz music...
- Johnny "Hammond" Smith.
- Jimmy SmithJimmy Smith (musician)Jimmy Smith was a jazz musician whose performances on the Hammond B-3 electric organ helped to popularize this instrument...
- Akiko TsurugaAkiko Tsurugais a jazz composer, Hammond B-3 organist and pianist from Osaka, Japan. A graduate of the Osaka College of Music, she has resided in New York City since 2001.In addition to her solo work, she plays as a sideman in various groups in NYC.- Discography :...
- Baby Face WilletteBaby Face WilletteRoosevelt "Baby Face" Willette was a hard bop and soul-jazz musician most known for playing Hammond organ. It is unclear whether he was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, or New Orleans, Louisiana...
- Reuben WilsonReuben WilsonReuben Wilson is a jazz organist. He performs soul jazz and acid jazz, and is best known for his title track "Got To Get Your Own"He was born in Mounds, Oklahoma and his family moved to Pasadena when he was 5....
- Larry Young
Jazz guitarists who perform in trios
- Howard RobertsHoward RobertsHoward Roberts was an American jazz guitarist, educator and session musician.-Biography:Roberts was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and began playing guitar at age 8. By the time he was 15 he was playing professionally locally....
- Grant GreenGrant GreenGrant Green was a jazz guitarist and composer....
- Kenny BurrellKenny BurrellKenneth Earl "Kenny" Burrell is an American jazz guitarist. His playing is grounded in bebop and blues; he has performed and recorded with a wide range of jazz musicians.-Biography:...
- George BensonGeorge BensonGeorge Benson is a ten Grammy Award winning American musician, whose production career began at the age of twenty-one as a jazz guitarist....
- Pat MartinoPat MartinoPat Martino is an Italian-American jazz guitarist and composer within the post bop, fusion, mainstream jazz, soul jazz and hard bop idioms.-Biography:...
- Wes MontgomeryWes MontgomeryJohn Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. He is widely considered one of the major jazz guitarists, emerging after such seminal figures as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian and influencing countless others, including Pat Martino, George Benson, Russell Malone, Emily...
- Bobby BroomBobby BroomBobby Broom , birthname Robert Broom, Jr., is an American jazz guitarist, composer and educator born and raised in New York City. Broom performs and records with jazz saxophone legend Sonny Rollins as well as his Bobby Broom Trio and the Deep Blue Organ Trio...