Soul Night Live: Martino in the Room
Martino's trio fires straight-ahead soul-jazz at a live crowd, loose, hot, and built to be heard loud.
Soul Night Live opens on the crowd and the clink of glasses before the band locks into a greasy groove, with Pat Martino's guitar riding over Carl Wilson's organ and Joe Hadrick's drums pushing the tempo forward. The texture is thick and warm: organ chords swelling underneath, Martino's single-note lines cutting clean across the top, and the whole thing moving at a mid-tempo swing that never lets up. Willis Jackson's tenor and Frank Robinson's trumpet add horn punch on the heads, then step back so the rhythm section can do the work.
This is Martino doing what he does best in a club setting, swinging hard with no frills and plenty of room for the soloists to stretch. The arrangements are simple, the solos are long, and the energy comes from the audience as much as the band. Nothing here is trying to reinvent jazz. It's a working group having a good night and making sure you hear it.
For a listener new to Martino, this isn't the place to start, since his studio work shows the range more clearly. It's better for anyone who already likes soul-jazz organ trios and wants a live, unpolished version of that sound with a skilled guitarist at the center.
Who's playing
Pat Martinoguitar
Willis Jacksontenor saxophone
Frank Robinsontrumpet
Carl Wilsonorgan
Joe Hadrickmembranophone
