ASSTRÍO as soon as possible

Just a few weeks ago, Jimmy Smith, unanimously considered the godfather of the B3 Hammond organ, passed away. Before him, Wild Bill Davis, Fats Waller and even Count Basie all made their own sounds with this peculiar machine of lightning and thunder which has so inspired groove enthusiasts from all eras. After Smith’s appearance on the scene, however, no one could ignore his influence and it was no coincidence that he taught a number of the organists who made a name for themselves on the soul-jazz scene that he invented at the end of the 50s: Shirley Scott, Larry Young, Jack McDuff, Lonnie Smith and Jimmy McGriff. Some developed their own unique personalities while others remained true to a style heavily influenced by the ‘Incredible Jimmy Smith’ (which was how he signed his records for Blue Note), but all included an undeniable sense of rhythm. During that period, rock and roll had become the undisputed favourite among younger listeners and this was Black America’s response to the need to win back some of its audience. Over the years, and especially after electric sounds took the jazz world by storm, new keyboards such as the Fender Rodhes, the Synclavier and the Moog became the favoured instruments, gradually toppling the Hammond organ from its privileged position within the funk styles. The B3 fell into disuse (its extreme heaviness made it particularly bulky when on tour) until the beginning of the 90s, when the emergence of the acid-jazz phenomenon brought it back into fashion and combos such as The James Taylor Quartet or Corduroy, as well as pitiless bands such as the Beastie Boys and US3, made sure that the sounds of the Hammond organ were more alive than ever.

At the same time, on the strictly jazz-only scene, musicians such as Sam Yahel, Larry Goldings or the trio Medeski Martin and Wood, brought back the sounds of the past with the aim of contributing something more than just an excuse to go wild. Sharing both these revivalist spirits, AssTrío is both funky and wild, without ever forgetting the importance of improvisation for improvisation’s sake. The band was forged in Barcelona’s live performance clubs, the true acid test for this type of music which often suffers from a lack of black spirit – an unforgivable sin on the groove scene!

Their performance tends towards the excessively aesthetic: a carefully prepared scruffy look and a very polished sound. The choice of tracks is also debatable (for a change), but in both areas the band demonstrates without a shadow of a doubt that it has an iconoclastic and theatrical spirit, which is always a bonus in the jazz world, where musicians often take themselves far too seriously. Their sense of humour reminds us of their first live performances, when they played with the Catalonian comedian Berto Romero, in a double billing that offered, to top it all, the voice of Laia Cagigal (who sings one of the tracks here) lending a touch of soul to the covers section.

In this sense, and in keeping with their desire to constantly surprise their listeners, the version of Caravan merges the scores of Ennio Morriconne (so popular with Tarantino) with references to surf, through Dick Dale and the Ventures. The result is a curious mixture that, far from distorting the spirit of the original, actually brings us back to this exotic, Creole atmosphere with which Juan Tizol and Duke Ellington imbued this classic. I am sure Medeski, Martin and Wood are smiling from the shadows at the exploits of these talented scoundrels.

On the other hand, Hit Jotero and Fasten the Seatbelts remind us powerfully of Soulive, that lewd, funky trio from New York who really made the trio formation come alive. Nothing else is needed to break out in a sweat. Great rhythms, breaks á la JBs, first-rate material for those familiar with the roots of hip-hop who are in a playful mood. Jesús Paleta mixes Afro-funk rhythm with the tricky field of rhythm and blues and the unnerving buffer provided by the Arabic voice of Fatiha Houbabi, while in The elastic Son, the band offers a more direct reference to the classic Hammond Groove from the Prestige label, less Lonnie Smith and more Jimmy Mc Griff, Sugarman Three, etc.

The version of Somethin Stupid seems at first to be a little out of place, but nevertheless has a slight psychedelic hint that is very sixties (a cross between Brian Auger & the Trinity and Burt Bacharach) and is curious, to say the least, complete with a final rock-like crescendo. In the era of emocore, post-rock and the thousands of possible labels flying around the place, they are obviously offering nothing that has not been done before, but at least they sound energetic, lively and convincing, and that is no small feat. Often, the spontaneity demonstrated by this type of group on stage is difficult to capture on an album, since they end up sounding wooden in studio recordings, but in this case, the effort has paid off: ‘As soon as possible’ exudes a sense of urgency right from its title, and makes listeners impatient to see them on the road, in a venue where the lighting is low and libidos run high, like with all the wonderful black music in which the band has its roots. Gotxi