Philadelphia jazz singer Lou Lanza had an excellent point when he asserted that jazz improvisers who ignore rock and R&B songs "are cutting themselves off from a lot of worthwhile material." Lanza wasn't suggesting that jazz artists should totally give up the Tin Pan Alley standards they've been performing all these years -- actually, he's done plenty of
Cole Porter and
Irving Berlin gems himself -- but he was saying that if you're going to use popular songs as vehicles for jazz expression, there is no reason not to interpret
Sting,
Billy Joel or
Prince along with
Harry Warren and
George Gershwin. And if
Deep Blue Bruise is any indication, the members of
the Deep Blue Organ Trio -- leader/organist Chris Foreman, guitarist
Bobby Broom and drummer Greg Rockingham -- feel the same way. While
Deep Blue Bruise is definitely an album of instrumental jazz, only a few of the songs on this soul-jazz/hard bop/post-bop disc were actually written as jazz instrumentals.
Joe Henderson's "Granted" and
Broom's exuberant title track were jazz instrumentals from birth, but most of the songs on this 2004 date started out in popular music -- and that is true of "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" and "These Foolish Things" (both from Tin Pan Alley) as well as
Prince's "Raspberry Beret,"
the Doors' "Light My Fire" and
Earth, Wind & Fire's "Can't Hide Love." What
the Deep Blue Organ Trio does to these songs isn't smooth jazz or NAC music; this is a passionate, hard-swinging organ combo in the
Jimmy Smith/
Richard "Groove" Holmes/
Shirley Scott/
Jack McDuff tradition, and a real improviser's mentality prevails whether the Chicago threesome is tackling
Ervin Drake's "It Was a Very Good Year" or the
Isaac Hayes tune "Café Regio's." Although not innovative by 21st century standards,
Deep Blue Bruise is a satisfying, noteworthy effort that die-hard Hammond B-3 enthusiasts will appreciate. ~ Alex Henderson