Sam Fribush Organ Trio

“I’ve always had an affinity for the Hammond organ,” says Sam Fribush. “It’s such a greasy, funky, soulful instrument, but it’s also an incredible piece of engineering. You open it up and there’s over a hundred spinning discs; it’s more complicated than a grandfather clock. It has such a mind of its own — most of the time, it feels like it’s playing me more than I’m playing it.”

That funky Hammond sound can be heard in all its greasy glory on two blazing new albums from the Sam Fribush Organ Trio — Vol. I: Riverboat and Vol II: The Root. Produced by virtuoso guitarist Charlie Hunter, both records find Fribush, Hunter and drummer Geoff Clapp putting their special soulful spin on everything from jazz standards (Yusef Lateef’s “Plum Blossom,” Billy Strayhorn’s “A Flower is a Lovesome Thing”), New Orleans touchstones (Allen Toussaint’s “Riverboat,” Ellis Marsalis Jr.’s “Swingin’ at the Haven”), 70s R&B jams (Billy Preston’s “Will It Go Round in Circles,” The Impressions’ “We Must Be in Love”) and modern classics like D’Angelo’s “The Root” and Bonnie Raitt’s “Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About,” as well as a couple of Fribush originals. Playful, thrilling, and cheerfully sweat-soaked, both records cook like the kitchen of a packed juke joint. If you dig the likes of Jimmy McGriff, Big John Patton and Brother Jack McDuff, the Sam Fribush Organ Trio is most definitely in your wheelhouse.