Notes and tones: Organist Pat Bianchi's trio makes the hits hit different

Organist Pat Bianchi is an artist who, to use a cliché, “gets it.”

As wonderful a keyboardist as he is — and he’s a damn good one — what makes you sit up and take notice is not only his technical capability, wide repertoire and personal style, but his great sense of this music’s history and his ability to push himself forward.

On the one hand, Bianchi, not yet 50, recognizes, honors and genuinely thanks — in a palpable way — those who preceded him, people such as Jimmy Smith, Shirley Scott, Dr. Lonnie Smith and Larry Young, who did the heavy lifting and laid the groundwork of taking the Hammond B-3 from the sideline to center stage. And like most authentic musicians, Bianchi sings the praises of his two main mentors.

There’s Don Patterson, who precedes Bianchi by two generations and rose to prominence in the 1950 and '60s; and then there’s the late Joey DeFrancesco who, just four years older than Bianchi, who died tragically at age 51 in 2022. DeFrancesco arguably became his most important mentor and teacher; this, even though the two men’s careers would crisscross and overlap during multiple decades, both playing with guitarists Pat Martino and Paul Bollenback and others.

Like DeFrancesco, Bianchi’s musicality stretches way beyond the Hammond B-3 world. Like the best musicians, he’s got a great sense and appreciation of others’ work and their influence. You don’t even have to spend time around him or know him; just listen to him and you can’t help but notice his terrific big picture vibe and thorough approach to the music.

So I was not surprised when I received the advance press announcement about his forthcoming self-produced recording, "Three," where the headline read: “Organ Virtuoso Pat Bianchi Debuts His Adventurous New Trio ‘We Three’ with Saxophonist Troy Roberts and Drummer Colin Stranahan.”

Some headlines are misleading. This one is not. The sub-head, referencing the release’s content, states in part: “... Finds the band stretching out on a mix of classic and modern standards.”

On a first look at "Three," which arrives Feb. 9, the repertoire doesn’t exactly blow you away. A trio of the selections includes the 1956 now-standard “When Sunny Gets Blue,” first released by Johnny Mathis, backed by the Ray Coniff Singers; Hoagy Carmichael’s “Stardust,” now 97 years old; and Irving Berlin’s mid-30’s hit, “Cheek To Cheek.” Such titles don’t exactly scream up-to-the-minute; actually, one is more likely to think quite the opposite.

“At the same time, Bianchi has never been afraid to take the B3 into new directions,” says the press release at one point.

The question then should be asked: How can you serve up the aforementioned titles, and some other “chestnuts,” whose respective initial renditions now approach their centennials?

Before I even looked at the repertoire, I slapped on the recording, thinking, “Oh, I should check out this new Bianchi disc.”

The opening has a quick-paced, bouncy intro with Bianchi on the organ’s low end, giving it that swinging bass feel; Stranahan then comes in with his drums in like-minded fashion; and finally Roberts, whose deep, full, rich saxophone tone grabs your attention, as it tends to do throughout the disc. His improvised lines, unless you’re comatose, surely get your juices flowing.

From the intro, which revs up as it chugs along, the song evolves into Cole Porter’s “Love For Sale.” Originally released in 1930 as part of the musical “The New Yorkers,” the seven-minute-plus elongated rendition of the usually familiar music takes listeners down some nice and sonically different creative tributaries.

Speaking of which, Sonny Rollins remains the master — even though he’s retired — of taking the most straight-sounding, heavily-recorded standards and show tunes and turning them into original masterpieces. It’s a most difficult task for all musicians.

Not only are you trying to create your own voice on an instrument as an individual artist, but you are also attempting to turn what once was common and obvious, if not obnoxiously so, into something uncommon and nuanced. Bianchi, Roberts and Stranahan succeed in doing both throughout.

The two possible exceptions — not as far as succeeding, but in terms of reinventing compositions — are the trio’s rendition of Wayne Shorter’s “Dance Cadaverous,” originally issued as part of the saxophonist’s important “Speak No Evil” session that arrived in 1966; and “Cryin’ Blues,” the work of Eddie Harris, another significant saxophonist from the same period, but who toiled within a different jazz sector than Shorter.

Shorter’s “Dance Cadaverous,” strikes me as a slow, brooding, dark waltz. It’s also the most complex and modern sounding of the six entries here, atmospheric-like. The group captures its sensibility.

As for “Cryin’ Blues,” the title is, needless to say, a common name. There are a plethora of tunes listed with that moniker, but within a near-instant, it’s quite apparent the trio is doing its best to respectfully deliver saxophonist Harris’ work. Not surprisingly, a non-threatened Bianchi gives Roberts center stage, which allows the saxophonist to, in obvious fashion, pay homage tonally and intentionally to Harris; what with all the abrupt stops, starts and brief saxophone blasts, similar to, say, the way Harris and the late Les McCann brought us “Compared To What.”

However, that doesn’t mean the three musicians simply look to mirror, mimic and replicate Shorter and Harris. Rather, especially their reading of “Cryin’ Blues” insists on taking the musical road less traveled. They offer, with purpose and enthusiasm, the element of surprise lines and musical interplay, making each composition sound quite different from the original — and that’s a good thing.

Jon W. Poses is executive director of the “We Always Swing” Jazz Series. Reach him at jazznbsbl@socket.net.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Notes and tones: Organist Pat Bianchi's trio makes the hits hit different