David Gibson - NYC Jazz Record

David Gibson - End of the Tunnel

Any group that employs an organist, regardless of the
bandleader’s instrument, becomes an organ band. In a
way that no other instrument can dominate, except
perhaps for a set of bagpipes, the Hammond B3
possesses the power of a freight train that can be hard
to tone down. On his newest album End of the Tunnel
trombonist David Gibson, along with saxophonist
Julius Tolentino and drummer Quincy Davis, give
ample room to organist Jared Gold, who provides two
of his own tunes and plenty of soul.

The album opens with Herbie Hancock’s “Blind
Man, Blind Man”, quickly setting the tone for a
straightforward blowing date with Gibson taking the
first of several gurgling solos. The following track,
“Wasabi”, one of five Gibson compositions on the
album, takes a stylistic Hancock leap ten years forward
with a more Headhunters-ish feel - punctual horn
unisons ride over Davis’ popping drum line. Davis
also carries Gibson’s title track to its abrupt ending,
which features the horns in fluttering harmonies before
they rocket off into a pair of impassioned solos.
Gibson’s “The In-Whim” is decidedly out. What starts
slow and modal grows as Tolentino wails away over
Gold’s sharp chordal jabs, growing more manic with
each passing measure. “Preachin’”, Gold’s bluesinflected
contribution, finds Gibson loping through a
building solo while the organist does his best to
summon the spirits of the chicken shack. The last track,
a take on Jackie McLean’s “Blue Rondo”, brings the
album back to where Gibson started: Englewood Cliffs,
1963. The horns exchange 12-bar bouts while Davis’
cymbal drives the battle into a solo of his own.

Over nine tunes Gibson and his cohorts display
their love of a solid groove, rarely straying too far from
the center of the pocket. The soloists swing hard with a
dominating organ presence looming just behind them
at all times. Gibson has taken the classic organ quartet
and injected just enough dissonance to create a fingersnapping
dose of 21st century soul-jazz.

David Gibson @ NYC Jazz Record