Nick Moran Trio: No Time Like Now

New York jazz guitarist Nick Moran has another winner here with the upcoming release No Time Like Now, featuring his trio that also includes organist Brad Whiteley and drummer Chris Benham. Paying homage to the classic organ trios of Lonnie Smith or Jimmy Smith, Moran and Co. take it one step further by incorporating a love for rock and blues into the jazz formula. All three players show that love in the opening cover of Cream's "Strange Brew", a fiery rendition with Whiteley's organ really snarling and getting gritty. Moran himself is a tasty player, and it's obvious he's studied the work of Grant Green, Wes Montgomery, and Lee Ritenour since first picking up the guitar. Check out his silky lines on "My Beautiful", the mournful blues of "Intention", or the funky licks that lock in with Whiteley's organ on "Slow Drive". All the while, Benham is there at every corner, restrained yet keeping things in check with some solid rhythms. You have to love the smoldering tension of "Wishful Thinking", which features a more rock based solo from Moran, while the melodic title track is sweet jazz at its finest. Benham locks into a funky groove over which Whiteley can solo over on "Say Hi To Paris", and closer "Renewal" is a focused number with some very tasty guitar and organ solos.

If you have a soft spot for the 'organ trio', you can't go wrong with giving No Time Like Now a try. Featuring three outstanding musicians and some enjoyable songs, it's a CD well worth investigating, and I'll bet these guys are hot in a live setting as well.

Track Listing
1) Strange Brew
2) My Beautiful
4) Slow Drive
5) Wishful Thinking
6) No Time Like Now
7) Say Hi to Paris
8) Natalya
9) The Physicist Transformed
10) Renewal

Added: September 15th 2012
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Artist Website
Hits: 2850
Language: english

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