Greg Lewis
Organ Monk
www.greglewismusic.com
By George W. Harris

Here’s a great concept by NY keyboardist Greg Lewis; take compositions by the jazz’s Mad Hatter, Thelonious Monk, and puree them through the Waring Blender of the organ trio along with Ron Jackson/g and Cindy Blackman/dr. The deep and cavernous musings of Lewis’ B3 bring out hidden corners of Monk’s compositions, with some lively work between the three on “Trinkle Tinkle” and a thoughtfully brooding “Monk’s Mood.” Jackson delivers some excellent string work on “Light Blue” while his teamwork with Lewis on “Four in One” is electrifying. Great concept, and it successfully explores the cerebellar regions of one of Bebop’s brightest stars.