A symphonic experience - a symbiosis between jazz and classic: the first lady of the hammond organ and her jazz trio meet the German philharmonic orchestra. Taking Jimmy Smith's famous work with orchestra and conductor Lalo Schifrin to the next level.
By adding synthesizers and MIDI to her sound, Dennerlein has largely escaped from the dominant Jimmy Smith influence that buries most organists' potential musical personalities. With the exception of the somewhat overblown "Love Affair - The Ballad," she excels on the swinging set, holding her own with such extroverted soloists as trombonist Ray Anderson, tenor-saxophonist Bob Berg and guitarist Mitch Watkins; drummer Dennis Chambers completes the quintet.
What a nice present! Just in time for the Christmas season 2015 Barbara Dennerlein is back with a new album! Combining elements from Pop, Funk, Soul and Fusion she creates Christmas Jazz at it´s best. Since more than 3 decades Barbara Dennerlein is one of the top stars of the nternational Jazz scene.
Several times the prestigous Down Beat Magazine voted her as “instrumentalist of the year”. She received numerous Jazz Awards and in 2013 she was honoured to become a member of the “Hammond Hall Of Fame”.
Now Barbara Dennerlein presents a soulful selection of Christmas songs played on the famous Hammond B3. Ten fingers, two feet, one instrument.
After several recordings on her own Bebap label and for a few tiny German companies, organist Barbara Dennerlein came to the attention of a larger public with the release of this superior effort for Enja. Teamed up with eccentric trombonist Ray Anderson, fiery guitarist Mitch Watkins, and drummer Ronnie Burrage, Dennerlein performs six of her swinging originals, one apiece by Anderson and Burrage plus "Opus de Funk" and "A Night in Tunisia." The colorful voices of these musicians constantly inspire each other, and Dennerlein (whose sound with the use of MIDI had become quite original) quickly emerged as one of the brightest new stars of the organ in the late '80s.
Organist Barbara Dennerlein performs nine of her originals on this enjoyable set. The music ranges from funky jams to more complex hard bop, with most songs being a bit quirky and full of subtle surprises. Dennerlein has long had her own sound (a major achievement on organ) and she is also heard on piano during two numbers, which is a rarity for her. Her sidemen on this set include such adventurous musicians as trumpeter Randy Brecker, David Murray or David Sanchez on reeds, and trombonist Frank Lacy, and every player gets a chance to be heard.
Over the years, the phrases "organ/tenor group," "tenor/organ group," and "organ/sax combo" have often been synonymous with soul-jazz. When soul-jazz fans hear the words "organ" and "tenor" in the same sentence, they immediately think of all things funky; they immediately think of Stanley Turrentine's work with Shirley Scott or Gene Ammons' encounters with Jack McDuff and Johnny "Hammond" Smith. But one shouldn't forget about the post-bop innovations of Larry Young, who moved organ groups beyond soul-jazz and paved the way for everyone from Barbara Dennerlein to John Medeski. And on this live album, one hears a tenor/organ trio that has nothing to do with soul-jazz and everything to do with post-bop…