Hammond B3 Organ artist Pat Bianchi is joined by Mark Whitfield on guitar and Byron Landham on drums.
This exciting recording covers several famous jazz compositions including the John Coltrane classic "Straight Street", and "Turn Out the Stars" by Bill Evans. Mark Whitfield played with the great Jimmy Smith and Byron Landham has worked extensively with Joey DeFrancesco. Their partnership with Pat Bianchi should solidify Pat's increasing stature as one of the foremost Hammond B3 players on today's jazz scene.
I Hear You Now! For several years, Pat Bianchi's music has been calling out to me as if to ask, "Can You Hear Me Now?" By his own admission, he had been wooed into the World of Jazz Organ by the fast and furious stylings of Joey DeFrancesco but for those of us who heard Pat early-on, it was apparent that he possessed an enormous gift and it would be only a matter of time before he would parlay this gift into stardom. Pat seemed to have the musical mind and the technical skills to compete with anyone.
For this session, Pat chose to play with two of the finest young jazz organ combo voices of today. Guitarist Mark Whitfield does not turn down an opportunity to play at this level. His experience with Jimmy Smith has surely solidified his allegiance to the genre. Byron Landham's experience with Joey DeFrancesco is closing-in on the twenty year mark. His familiarity with jazz organ vocabulary and the distinguishing characteristics of a jazz-organ-drummer could not be better qualifications.
His awareness of organ registrations and how they are so cleverly inter-related seems to have come easily to him. His knowledge of the organ and Leslie speaker as well as his skillful fingering and footwork suggest a level of proficiency that is far and above that of most other players who might be twice his age. A sweeter jazz organ sound would be hard to find anywhere. Yes, Pat Bianchi has arrived. I can definitely hear him now!
Pete Fallico, KCSM San Mateo, KUSP "The Doodlin' Lounge"
