Supersonic

Young organist Jared Gold has plied his craft as a sideman with Randy Napoleon and Oliver Lake, among others, but hits his stride as a leader on this second recording that clearly places his influences to the side, forming a voice on the Hammond B-3 that is strikingly original. Yes, there's the speed and depth of Jimmy Smith, with the midnight blue hues of Larry Young and the progressive demeanor of peers like Larry Goldings and John Medeski, but something else is happening here that brands Gold as an emerging original. Veteran electric guitarist Ed Cherry lifts Gold's acumen to a higher plane where most instrumentalists would lay back and let the organ be the star. Instead, there's a solid partnership between Gold, Cherry, and drummer McClenty Hunter that pays dividends in a funky realm from start to finish. Perhaps the old-school boogaloo adaptation of John Sebastian's "Welcome Back," the Cherry-led take of John Lennon and Paul McCartney's "In My Life," or the resolved steely resonance in "Home Again" will appeal directly to baby boomers. Those fiftysomethings may roll their eyes and wonder why Gold would take the ultimately sappy Frankie Valli song "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" and attempt to update it. Certainly a version of Coldplay's "Sparks" in a deep faux waltz ballad should find blindfold-tested Gen X'ers pondering and listening more closely. At his best, Gold takes the standard "Angel Eyes" into an Ahmad Jamal "Poinciana"-type happy and contemporary groove, a unique fix for sure. Blues is taken up on "Joe's Thing," the closest to a jam band number, while Gold's three originals — "Makin' Do" in its warmer vibe and vibrato shadings à la Goldings or Young, the midtempo head-nodder "Times Are Hard on the Boulevard," and the shredded 7/8 time jam "Battle of Tokorazawa" — come closer to a signature sound for the trio. No matter the adopted style, Gold is not copping licks or emulating anyone in particular. It will be interesting to see where his music goes, as sprung forth from this finely crafted sophomore effort as a leader. ~ Michael G. Nastos, Rovi