Tony Monaco Archive

Steve Smith – Tony Monaco – Vinny Valentino – Groove:Blue – Q-rious

by Audiophile Audition | May 22, 2016 | Jazz CD Reviews

Steve Smith – Tony Monaco – Vinny Valentino – Groove:Blue – Q-rious Music QRM 135, 49:09 ****: A good cookin’ organ trio. (Steve Smith – drums; Tony Monaco – Hammond B-3; Vinny Valentino – guitar) Serendipity is defined as “luck that takes the form finding valuable or pleasant things that are not looked for”. That certainly is the case as it relates to the genesis of this recording session. A chance encounter by the members of this aggregation in March 2011, who were in Jakarta, Indonesia at the same time but for different reasons lead to a musical empathy. Later that same year, (August 2011), but now in the US, they again were brought together by chance, and decided to act on these fateful encounters to record something on spec, hoping that eventually their efforts would be released. Now the German label Q-rious has issued a CD entitled Groove:Blue and the name fits perfectly. Harking back to those 1950/1960 organ combos led by the likes of Jimmy Smith, Richard “Groove” Holmes, Brother Jack McDuff and Milt Buckner, the band waxes rhapsodic and digs into the material with gusto. The trio has judiciously chosen the set list that combines a number […]