Robert Walter

Robert Walter - Super Heavy Organ (2005) {Magnatude MA-2309-2}
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© 2005 Magnatude | MA-2309-2
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Jazz Funk / Organ

Robert Walter calls his instrumental heavy organ music "soul-jazz," but that ignores the strong funk element ever-present on all of his albums. This one is no exception, as the opening track, "Adelita," charges out with Walter's Jimmy Smith/Jack McDuff-styled keyboards, driving saxophonist Tim Green into a roaring solo. For this recording, made live in a New Orleans studio with crisp sound, Walter chose top musicians to help the vibe, such as drummers Johnny Vidacovich and Galactic's Stanton Moore, along with bassist James Singleton. The music is baked in the New Orleans groove, with doses of the Meters, Galactic, and Dr. John mixed in. Walter pushes the sonic envelope by shifting into slightly experimental waters during parts of "(Smells Like) Dad's Drunk Again," but he never strays too far afield.

Robert Walter - Cure All (2008) {Palmetto PM 2132}
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© 2008 Palmetto Records | PM 2132
Jazz / Contemporary Jazz / Soul Jazz / Organ / Piano

Robert Walter has no problem getting into funky, down-home soul-jazz when he wants to, but the organist/keyboardist/pianist also has his intellectual side. He obviously appreciates the soul-jazz that B-3 icons like Jimmy Smith, Richard "Groove" Holmes, Johnny "Hammond" Smith, and Jack McDuff offered in the '60s, but he has also shown his appreciation of Medeski, Martin & Wood as well as the post-bop and fusion that Larry Young explored after he moved beyond soul-jazz.

Robert Walter with Gary Bartz - Spirit of '70 (1996) {Greyboy Records GBRCD004}
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© 1996 Greyboy Records | GBRCD004
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Jazz Funk / Organ

Robert Walter hails from the Greyboy academy of jazz. Spirit of '70 is a solid outing for him, but the funk/jazz legend Gary Bartz steals the show. On tracks like "Corey's Snail and Slug Death," Bartz plays with restraint, frothing with fresh ideas and confidently reaffirming his status as an underrated jazz giant. "Volcanic Acne" is the most cohesive track on the album and shows just how exciting Walter's playing can be when he's inspired. Walter's desire to re-create the "'70s spirit" unfortunately fails to reinvent it.

Robert Walter's 20th Congress - Giving Up The Ghost (2003) {Magnatude Records MT-2302-2}
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© 2003 Magnatude Records | MT-2302-2
Jazz / Contemporary Jazz / Soul Jazz / Organ

Robert Walter continues to balance on twin peaks of dance and jazz cultures with Giving Up the Ghost, whose breezy grooves cool sizzling keyboard and sax lines down to a simmer. The band includes alumni from Black Eyed Peas, T.J. Kirk, and Walter's own Greyboy Allstars, which means that the playing is consistently top-notch. There's enough angularity in the arrangements to bear occasional comparison to Medeski, Martin & Wood.

During the last quarter of the 20th century, and thanks largely to Eric Clapton's remarkable devotion to his memory, Robert Leroy Johnson posthumously became the most celebrated Delta blues musician of the pre-WWII era. Among numerous editions of his complete works and various anthologies that combine his recordings with those of his contemporaries and followers, J.S.P.'s The Road to Robert Johnson and Beyond combines many of his essential performances with those by dozens of other blues artists from Blind Lemon Jefferson and Henry Thomas to Muddy Waters and Elmore James. 105 tracks fill four CDs with several decades' worth of strongly steeped blues that trace the African American migration from the deep south on up into Chicago. This is a fine way to savor the recorded evidence, as primary examples from Blind Blake, Charley Patton, Son House, Charlie McCoy, Walter Vincson, Skip James, Ma Rainey, Tampa Red, Kokomo Arnold, Scrapper Blackwell, Leroy Carr, Lonnie Johnson, and Peetie Wheatstraw lead directly to early modern masters like Big Joe Williams, Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Bill Broonzy, Johnny Temple, Leroy Foster, Johnny Shines, Homesick James Williamson, Robert Jr. Lockwood, Snooky Pryor, Little Walter, and David Honeyboy Edwards, among many others.