Nigel Price: It's On!

This is the 10th release from the Nigel Price Organ Trio and like a mantra from a corporate business consultant, they have a commitment to continuous improvement, resulting in their sparkling album It's On. Acknowledged as one of the UK's leading jazz guitarists, Nigel Price has a career that has brought him multiple awards, contributions to over 60 albums and appearances with Van Morrison and Gladys Knight. He is also the founder of Grassroots Jazz, a charity that raises money for jazz clubs facing financial difficulties.

The trio is completed by Ross Stanley on Hammond organ and Joel Barford on drums, both of whom take pleasure in the creative freedom and interplay that the trio format provides. The album features six Price originals alongside three covers, with one of the latter opening the collection. "Make Someone Happy," written by Jule Styne, Adolph Green, and Betty Comden for the 1960 musical Do Re Mi, was notably featured on Kenny Burrell's 1972 album 'Round Midnight (Fantasy). Price begins with an elegant unaccompanied solo before Stanley and Barford join to propel the track through dynamic shifts across its 10-minute journey.

"Backatcha" delivers barnstorming energy through dynamic solos, inventive guitar and organ combinations and Barford's propulsive invention. The conventional wisdom suggests that funk and swing are incompatible, but "Chonky" proves otherwise, demonstrating how these styles can merge. On the title track, Stanley establishes a laid-back groove that provides the perfect foundation for Barford's drum interventions and Price's sophisticated chording.

The remaining two covers are both highlights. Wes Montgomery is a major influence on Price and his version of Joe Zawinul's "Midnight Mood" inspired the double-time feel on offer in this polished gem. Art Pepper's "Red Car" is a complete trio boogaloo exercise with all members providing equal voices. Price is funky, Stanley's bass line is terrific and Barford's drums excite.

Elsewhere there is the vibrant funk of "Splash The Cash," a bluesy "Straight Talk" and another highlight in "'76." The track celebrates the extremely hot summer (for the UK) of 1976. The trio show delicacy and restraint as the piece moves from nostalgic to melancholy.

The album fully exploits the rich possibilities of the format, delivering all the hallmarks of an exceptional organ trio album: compelling original compositions, imaginative interpretations of covers, captivating individual performances, superb interplay, a smoky vintage feel and contemporary sound.

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