Paul Carr‘s New Album “B3 Sessions (DC-NY)” will be released this August, 2014. The album is a combination of 2 different live sessions, one at Blue House Productions recording studio in Maryland and the other at Avatar studios in New York City.
The album was mixed by Jeff Gruber at Blue House Productions. On both sessions Carr combines his big Texas tenor tone with the classic organ trio format of B3, guitar and drums. Many of the tunes feature the sax and guitar in perfect unison on some pretty intricate lines. Carr’s own bluesy “B3” showcases the unison sax/guitar to great effect when alternating the angular melody with killer organ exchanges. There is the latin flavored Dorothy that after a percussive beginning breaks into a huge wall of sound with the organ, guitar and sax all hitting huge chords that will surely blow the listener away. The greasy, strutting groove of Sunshine Alley is a great example of where Jazz and funk meet into something that moves your feet while keeping your ears and brain engaged. Whether he’s in uptempo or ballad mode Carr’s solos showcase his sweet and sour, inside/outside improvisation that’s always fresh while still faithful to his hard bop and straight ahead roots. Extremely sophisticated but still accessible Paul’s solos should keep listeners on the edge of their seats.
He’s surrounded himself with some of the best players on the scene today. The groove is deep with the impeccable rhythm section laying down both the supportive and explosive. The organ and guitar solos are on the same level as Carr and give both him and the album an expressive foil and counterpoint to keep our interest.
In conclusion these are wonderful arrangements of great tunes. They are played by some incredible musicians in a classic format where every tune brings something fresh to the organ trio genre. Definitely worth checking out!
Musicians:
DC:
Paul Carr – Tenor Saxophone
Bobby Floyd – Organ
Bobby Broom – Guitar
Sam Turner – Percussion
Byron Landham – Drums
New York:
Paul Carr – Tenor Saxophone
Pat Bianchi – Organ
Paul Bollenbeck – Guitar
Lewis Nash – Drums