Trio New York

Given that my mother, organist "Bobbie Lee", had a professional career in Baltimore in the 1960's I have always had a love and affinity for the sound of the Hammond B3. It only makes sense that I would one day put together an organ project of my own. This recording session, with Gary Versace on organ and Gerald Cleaver on drums, reaches back to the beginnings of my musical consciousness (some of these tunes were in my mother's repertoire) yet speaks to the current musical realities of my life as a musician who has spent the last thirty years living in New York City, traveling the globe and celebrating a life in music. This project is the culmination of a year's worth of work. As a saxophonist I've undergone something of a reassessment and reorientation with the instrument. As a bandleader this new ensemble represents a conceptual integration of free improvisation with traditional material. It helps that Gary and Gerald have ears for for the entire swath of jazz history, right up to the moment and into the future. We cover some very early standards such as "Memories of You" and "Lover, Come Back to Me" but treat them very loosely, using them to shape our improvisations rather than dictate them.