Nigel Price announced the launch of his latest recording, Live ’23, with the Organ Trio in a performance at Alfie’s in Soho. It represents the culmination of a 43 date tour in 2023 that covered the length and breadth of Britain, from Aberdeen in the North to St Ives in the South. The album features tracks from three of the venues – the Globe in Newcastle; the Lighthouse in Deal and Pizza Express in Soho. It also features Peter Johnstone on Hammond organ as he deputised for Ross Stanley for the Scottish dates.
The trio played two sets at Alfie’s which has only been in existence since early 2023 and gets its name from a resident feline. It’s a welcome addition to the jazz scene with Nigel describing it as the “newest, hippest jazz club”. The club is a cosy, intimate venue and the sound was good throughout the gig.
The second set opened with “Morning Star” which Nigel had loosely based on a Lorne Lofsky version. It proved to be a relatively gentle introduction to a night of music that was played with so much intensity and dynamism. Joel Barford’s brushwork was deft and insistent, gently driving the music along.
There were a couple more low key numbers. A sweet ballad “Spring can Really Hang You Up the Most”, again with Joel on brushes, which Nigel first heard performed at Glastonbury by Rickie Lee Jones. The other “Sweet”, a Price composition based around the chord changes of Stanley Turrentine’s “Sugar” was played to “take the temperature down”. The trio may have chilled down but couldn’t resist upping the tempo to play what turned out to be a quirky bluesy number.
The pace picked up with a Rogers and Hart number “Falling in Love with Love” that was delivered as a fast-paced waltz with Ross Stanley coming in with what proved to be the first of several intense solos and Joel tearing it up on drums.
There were a couple of dedications. “Kid Gloves” was a dedicated to Pat Martino (whose nickname was Kid). It raced along with fast linear guitar runs and a coruscating Ross solo. In support, Joel’s drumming was really driving and kicking the number along. “You Don’t Know Me” was dedicated to Joey de Francesco. The melody was instantly recognisable but it was a funked up version of the Ray Charles classic, kind of Wes Montgomery meets Ray Charles. It almost had people up and dancing which was only prevented by lack of dance space. Ross was killing it with his Ray Charles inspired playing and closed off the number with a gospel-spiked coda.
The final number of the set was “Night Flight”, introduced by Nigel as being based on the chord changes of Herbie Hancock’s “Maiden Voyage” but “something went wrong on the way”. No matter. It was an absolute burner that really took flight with the trio in a frantic three-way conversation with each other. There was even time for a quick encore. “Booze Blues”, inspired by a beer festival, was a fast blues in Bb and kept short.
So a marvellous evening of music came to an end. It had been delivered with intensity and so much energy and quite astonishingly seamless interplay between the trio.
This gig was the first of a dozen or so dates that the Organ Trio are currently playing (link to dates below). It’s also an opportunity to buy the Live ’23 recording. It’s not just a record of a remarkable U.K. tour but 25% of profits go directly to support U.K. jazz clubs.
Nigel Price: Fibonacci Londoner guitar
Ross Stanley 1963 B3 Hammond Organ
Joel Barford: Drums
