James Carter Organ Trio
At the Crossroads
Release Date: Oct 4, 2011
Genre(s): Jazz, Jazz Instrument, Modern Creative, Post-Bop, Jazz Blues, Vocal Jazz, Saxophone Jazz, Modern Jazz Vocals, Soul Jazz
Record label: Emarcy
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Album Review: At the Crossroads by James Carter Organ Trio
Very Good, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
At the Crossroads, saxophonist James Carter's third disc for the Emarcy, is the first for the label with his Organ Trio, which has been together since 2004. Produced by Michael Cuscuna, it's an indelible portrait of Detroit's historic jazz scene, envisioned in the present while looking ahead. All trio members -- Carter, organist Gerard Gibbs, and drummer Leonard King, Jr.
Based on rating 3/5
The charismatic reeds virtuoso James Carter released an orchestral album in the summer, but he's at his earthiest and most accessible with this classic Hammond organ trio lineup. Carter can be sumptuously romantic or exhilaratingly funky – his technique embraces all kinds of extreme playing, from split-note multiphonic harmonies to staccato effects – and he directs his full firepower at this mostly mainstream-groovy repertoire. His muscular tenor-sax tone and honking low notes barge through the opening swinger, Oh Gee.
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