I’ve been listening to more organ music tonight: Jared Gold’s All Wrapped Up. Gold leads a quartet consisting of Ralph Bowen on tenor sax, Jim Rotondi on trumpet and flugelhorn, and Quincy Davis on drums. The instrument conspicuous by its absence is the bass. Is it really jazz if there isn’t the thump of the bass?
Well, yes. Gold has a very vigorous strike for an organ player and he has to fill in for the bass when the horns are up front. He does a good job of that and more. Gold plays the organ like a catcher plays baseball: he minds his post and manages the field. The horns are prominent, as God intended, but the organ is always supporting the action. If you were moving a resolution for more organ in jazz, you would want to introduce this album into evidence.
Ralph Bowen knows what a saxophone is for. His solos are brilliant. I was constantly surprised by his changes and by his sense of where the sweet spot in the melody lies. Rotondi’s horn reminded me of a smoky room many years ago when another horn player reminded of why God made ears. I won’t neglect the drumming, which was flawless and rich.
But Gold’s organ was the interesting thing. His solo work ranged between soulful singing and the precision of a computer dialing a phone number. The latter was wonderful on its own, but it highlighted the mood of the former.
Don’t miss All Wrapped Up. Tell ’em I sent ya.
