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Vibes and Organ

by BarryK | Fri, 07/03/2009 - 22:47
Summary: 
Vibes and Organ

I was practicing, and as it often happens, I played a few notes that sounded familiar, but I didn't know what it is. Then I recalled it was from the Cal Tjader Soul Sauce album. The song was "Somewhere in the Night".
http://www.vibesworkshop.com/amazon/cal-tjader-soul-sauce/tonymiceli/031208
I listened and played along with that version a few times and wanted to hear other versions. So, I did a search a found a couple vibes and organ versions.

Here is one from Joey DeFrancesco with Bobby Hutcherson
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UAWHF6/ref=sr_1_album_122_rd?ie=UTF...

There is also a video:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3f46y_bobby-hutcherson-joey-defrancesc...
Is it my ears on this one, or does the pitch keep changing?

Here is one with Grant Green on Guitar, Larry Young on organ, Bobby Hutcherson on vibes & Elvin Jones on drums.
http://www.vibesworkshop.com/amazon/street-dreams/patty/103008

I think I will work on this tune some more.

Barry

Comments

by tonymiceli | Sat, 07/04/2009 - 08:48

organ and vibes

i haven't personally had the best success with organ and vibes. but there are great recordings. so i wonder what happened on my end. i did one gig with a great organ player from north jersey who's playing with dave samuels now. that one was great. interesting that he got the gig with dave. i guess he knows how to play with vibes!

his name is ron oswanski. he's a top notch musician.

the joey and bobby cd is great. i have to see what else you posted up there.

------------------------
Tony Miceli
s k y p e: tjazzvibe
i c h a t: tonymiceli
tony@tonymiceli.com
www.facebook.com/people/Tony-Miceli/604414578
www.myspace.com/tonymicelivibes

by John Keene | Sun, 07/05/2009 - 14:52

fixed pitched instruments

The biggest problem that I see with the organ-vibes trio setup is that both instruments are fixed in their pitch, unlike an organ trio with sax or guitar where those two instruments can bend pitch. I listened to some of the youtube clips of Dave and Ron and the tunes are certainly well-played, but I don't know if I'd enjoy listening to an entire set of all dry-tuned instruments. I played vibes just once with an organist, but we also had a first-rate tenor player who really gave the group a three-dimensional quartet sound. I never really thought about what it would have sounded like without the tenor until just now.

I read something interesting a few years ago. Downbeat did a cover story on Soulive, whose CD's I've been enjoying a lot recently. They were originally a quartet with vibes, then lost the vibes player somewhere along the way and remained the trio they are today (guitar, B3,, and drums). I would have loved to have heard that band at that time and how they used the vibes in the group.