Smul's Paradise

Baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan is backed by a hot organ trio on this hard-swinging disc. Hammond B-3 player Mike LeDonne, guitarist Peter Bernstein, and drummer Kenny Washington turn the set into a hard-swinging, bluesy romp full of energy and melodic invention. It's not a themed album or a tribute disc, but it does feature two compositions by organist Don Patterson and a third titled "Blues for D.P." alongside an interpretation of the '60s pop hit "Sunny" that's frankly unrecognizable. It's refreshing enough to hear a baritone saxophone taking the lead role at all, in any jazz context, but to hear it fronting an organ group is so pleasurable it makes one wonder why it's such a rare occurrence. There's no complex compositional trickery at work on Smul's Paradise, just the blues and hard, soulful grooves, but that's more than enough in the hands of players this skilled and well matched to one another. (Each of the four has worked with one or two of the others in varying combinations, but this particular quartet has never recorded or performed together.) Fans of vintage soul-jazz will find much to tap their feet to on this purely pleasurable release.