Pat Bianchi - Three '2024

Tracks list

Tracklist

01. Love for Sale
02. When Sunny Gets Blue
03. Dance Cadaverous
04. Cryin Blues
05. Stardust
06. Cheek to Cheek (Live)

As a modern ambassador of the Hammond B3, Pat Bianchi is no stranger to the
classic organ trio setting. The Grammy-nominated organist was a longtime member
of the trio led by late guitar icon Pat Martino, and has collaborated with such
six-string masters as Paul Bollenback, Peter Bernstein, Mark Whitfield and Chuck
Loeb, among others. He also shares his deep knowledge of the music’s
history as host of the weekly Sirius XM show Organized.

At the same time, Bianchi has never been afraid to take the B3 into new
directions. His two most recent releases were both ambitious undertakings:
2018’s In the Moment invited a number of high-profile guests –
including Bernstein, Martino, drummer Carmen Intorre, Jr., vibraphonist Joe
Locke and vocalist Kevin Mahogany – to join his trio with Bollenback and
drummer Byron Landham; while Something To Say in 2021 found the trio exploring
the Stevie Wonder songbook with saxophone great Wayne Escoffery.

Bianchi’s new album, Three, is in a sense a “back to basics”
outing following those two more expansive efforts. At the same time, it’s
anything but basic as the virtuoso organist continues to challenge himself. The
album, due out February 9, 2024, scales back to a trio format, but for the first
time Bianchi has opted for a sax and drums line-up rather than the familiar
guitar accompaniment. His stellar new trio, We Three, features saxophonist Troy
Roberts and drummer Colin Stranahan, both acquaintances of long standing, though
the trio was a fresh combination when they entered the studio.

“My recent albums were pretty heavy investments, in terms of having a lot
of different guests and being highly arranged,” Bianchi says. “I
wanted to circle back to a live feel in a pressure-free situation. There are
plenty of polished studio recordings that I love, but obviously you never get
the same feeling as you do live.”

The Three in the album’s title is obvious, referring to the trio setting
and the hallowed model number of Bianchi’s instrument of choice.
Inspiration for the group came from a classic trio album, but not one featuring
an organist. Bianchi became enamored of the possibilities afforded by the
chordless trio while spending time on a transcription of “I’ve Got
You Under My Skin” from Sonny Rollins’ A Night at the Village
Vanguard.

Bianchi was emboldened to take this new step by two of his organ heroes, Don
Patterson and Joey DeFrancesco. Both worked extensively with saxophonists
– Patterson with the likes of Sonny Stitt, Booker Ervin, Houston Person,
Bootsie Barnes, Charles McPherson and David “Fathead” Newman;
DeFrancesco with a long list including Person, Pharoah Sanders, Illinois
Jacquet, Grover Washington, Jr., Gary Bartz, George Coleman, James Moody, David
Sanborn and We Three’s Troy Roberts.

“I love the openness of that sound,” Bianchi says.
“There’s a lot more harmonic freedom. A guitar player acts like a
pianist’s left hand, and they’re not always in sync with you. With
a saxophonist, there’s a lot more room to go different places. I can play
more lopsided phrases, or take things in and out harmonically.”

He quickly decided that Roberts and Stranahan would make ideal partners for the
new venture. Besides his work with DeFrancesco, the Australian-born, New
York-based saxophonist has played with Van Morrison, Christian McBride, Jeff
“Tain” Watts, Kurt Elling and Orrin Evans’ Captain Black Big
Band. He and Bianchi have shared stages on and off since 2010, and the organist
appreciated Roberts’ impressive versatility. “I like that he can go
a lot of different places,” Bianchi says. “He can take a left turn
at a moment’s notice or he can stay in the pocket. Plus we’re
really good friends and have always been on the same page musically.”

Stranahan shares his bandmates’ eclecticism. The Denver native has played
with such stylistically diverse artists as Kurt Rosenwinkel, Jonathan Kreisberg,
Dr. Lonnie Smith, Fred Hersch and Terence Blanchard, and with a gifted group of
peers centered on the scene at New York City’s Smalls Jazz Club.
Stranahan was still in high school when he crossed paths with Bianchi while the
organist was living for a time in Denver. “He’s got huge ears and a
great feel,” Bianchi says. “He can go all over the place, which
frees me from staying in one particular vibe.”

The trio went into the studio with very little discussion and no arrangements, a
reflection both of Bianchi’s confidence in the untried combo and his
desire to capture a live feel. The genuine article can be heard on the
album’s closing track, a performance of the Irving Berlin standard
“Cheek To Cheek” captured at the Jazz Kitchen in Indianapolis that
bristles with high voltage energy and tightrope-walking thrills.

The studio session matches that daring atmosphere, from the taut, slinky groove
of opener “Love for Sale” to the airy, elegantly hazy
“Stardust.” Robert’s bluesy, breathy tenor locks into a
Stanley Turrentine soulfulness on “When Sunny Gets Blue,” then
becomes probing and investigatory on Wayne Shorter’s “Dance
Cadaverous” in response to Stranahan’s spacious brushwork and
Bianchi’s enveloping Hammond fog. “Cryin’ Blues” mines
the underexplored Eddie Harris songbook for a bold funk outburst.

With Three, Bianchi and We Three find the sweet spot bridging a storied jazz
tradition and the spirit of adventure that comes from playing without a net. As
Bianchi explains, “I wanted to capture that vibe of taking risks and not
worrying about whether the music sounds a little rough around the edges.”



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