Charlie Dennard – 5 O’Clock Charlie
(click the link for a sampler of the album’s songs hosted on SoundCloud)
Following up on his debut album, From Brazil to New Orleans, that critics have called “magical,” pianist and composer Charlie Dennard has created quite a different itinerary with his new album, 5 O’Clock Charlie, an elemental, concentrated offering of his superb jazz organ trio.
Here, Charlie draws on the longstanding organ-group style of the Gospel tradition, walks it through countryside of rhythm and blues by way of urban funk and soul jazz, and arrives at an unexpected destination.
In the late 1990s Charlie’s organ trio began a long-standing gig at the revered Funky Butt in New Orleans. After years performing and recording around the world, Charlie has reassembled and revitalized the trio.
Dennard is a master of the B3, utilizing every nuance of its texture, tone, depth and feel, walking the left hand bass to support the trio’s rhythm, and driving the melodies home with enthusiasm and heart.
Seven of the ten compositions on the album are by Dennard, four of them co-written with longtime New Orleans colleague, guitarist Brian Seeger.
On Hunch, Dennard sits at the Fender Rhodes and coaxes its trademark funky tone, evoking the style of another hero, Herbie Hancock. The B3 seems to take a backseat on this number, setting a mellow tone ambience for a thoughtful guitar solo by Duke until Charlie pulls out some drawbars and sends the Hammond soaring through the changes.
For the aptly named French Lick, the fabled New Orleans line drumming opens the track and drives the funky groove in support of punctuated organ comping, back pocket guitar and chromatic lifts reminiscent of Steely Dan. The album closes with Johnny Mercer and Mike Altman’s Suicide is Painless, a clever jazzy interpretation with a walking bass in 4/4 time. Whereas the M*A*S*H episode 5 O’Clock Charlie was a vignette about an enemy bomber pilot’s totally inept 5pm sorties, this 5 O’Clock Charlie hits its target from start to finish.
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