Yaya3

This is an album that you can slide into the deck during a backyard barbeque and let permeate the atmosphere like sauce and smoke permeate a rack of ribs cooking on a slow fire. The jazz trio of Sam Yahel on Hammond B-3 organ, Joshua Redman on tenor and soprano saxes, and Brian Blade on drums offers a sound that’s classically retro in ambience, evoking—to me anyway—some mythological, or perhaps archetypal, ‘60s-era jazz combos. The trio summons a collective spirit that’s a genuine joy to partake in.

Among my favorites is the opening, “Slow Orbit,” by Yahel, which starts out with the soft-focus pulse of Hammond bass notes and gracefully flows into a set of exchanged solos and unison parts by Yahel and Redman, beautifully complemented by Blade’s empathic and swinging drums. Blade’s “The Spirit Lives On” is another excellent outing, beginning with a soft tattoo of high-toned toms and shimmering into a romantic and lyrical solo for Redman and a slowly building crescendo elevated on Yahel’s cyclical organ swells.

Highly recommended.