Hammond B3 Summit 2004

Sometime, Kichijoji
Sunday, November 7, 2004

Ushio Sakai— Hammond B3 organ
Daisuke Kawai-- Hammond B3 organ
Yuta Kaneko— Hammond B3 organ
Masazumi Noda—Hammond B3 organ
??     --guitar
 ??    --drums
Shinji Hashimoto--guitar

Lovers of jazz organ trio packed jazz club Sometime on a Sunday afternoon for a slice of Hammond B3 organ trio heaven. Latecomers stood on the steps and crammed against the wall to get their full dose of vitamin B3. With an original B3 organ carried (somehow) down the narrow staircase, the piano pushed against the wall, and two vintage Leslie speaker cabinets whirling away, the club rocked for four and a half hours straight. With hour-long sets from each of four of the best organ masters in Tokyo, it was a wild and very funky afternoon.

Noda got things rolling just past one with the slow, graceful "You Don't Know What Love Is." He let the organ wail out the pain and testimony of the song, with a careful sense of volume and a very nice touch. His take on Pat Martino's "Mac Tough" was amazingly fast, with rapid shifts of chord changes that cascaded from the dual keyboards. Most beautiful, though was a Brazilianized version of Coltrane's "Naima." Delicately held notes and a lovely guitar solo turned this standard into a gorgeous work of art.

Kawai was next up with a funky in-the-pocket version of "Sunny." Kawai's style is compact and tight, with thick slatherings of bluesy feeling. "Shooting Star" showed off Kawai's extensive range of slippery, cool licks on great solos. He also had amazing foot pedal work. The bass lines boomed out with a fat, deep power under his never-slowing medley of great riffs. Blues-based organ sounds don't get any tastier than Kawai's.

Veteran organist Sakai’s opening songs on the third set broke the afternoon wide open. His deep sense of cool and effortless technique set the bar high. His playing on "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" screamed with the testifying power of gospel, while "Watergate Blues" laid down a tricky rhythm with neat fluidity. Moving from intense comping to wild funkiness, Sakai left the crowd sweaty.

Kaneko's tighter approach drew on the three hours of energy to bring the afternoon to a peak. Sticking with meditative yet forceful tunes, Kaneko's sound had the greatest individuality to it. His unique sound, as the songs loosened into funkier rhythms, showed a well-accomplished control, one of the hallmarks of all organ players. Bringing in a fresh guitarist with whom he has played often made for great give-and-take on the solos.

The climax of the afternoon was Jimmy Smith’s classic “Eight Counts for Rita.” The audience shouted out “1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8” in the funkiest way possible during the two-bar break in the melody line, then changed it to, “1,2,3,4, we love B 3.” With the addition of a second, new-model organ, two keyboardists played together by swapping spots during the shouted break. After that cycle of two-fisted greasy energy, members of the audience leapt up to the keyboard to try their own jams. Obviously more than just fans, these young keyboardists pounded out great solos that had the crowd clapping and shaking in their seats. You couldn't find a funkier Sunday afternoon if you tried.