One of the most pleasing formats in Jazz is the B3 trio. It endures because it has warmth and groove in equal proportions and it makes us happy. To unleash the full potential of the B3 a bass pedalboard must be used, and this difficult-to-master art is increasingly rare. There are hands, knees and feet, all doing different things, there are two keyboards and a bewildering array of sliders and knobs to be coordinated. On the new Music Soup album we not only have a skilled pedaling-organist in Evgenia Karlafti but on two tracks a guest pianist (Kym Purling) is added into the mix. This adds to the complexity, as three chordal instruments can clash and crowd each other out; so skilled musicianship and the right compositions are called for. That is what you get with ‘Upbeat Mood’.  

The guitarist, Nestor Demopoulos, co-founder of the trio with Karlafti, can power up the groove with solos reminiscent of Pat Martino, Grant Green or Paul Bollenback. His tone is a warm embrace and his comping urges the soloists to greater heights. The other trio member is drummer Vagelis Kotzabasis and his contribution nicely rounds off the core trio. They respond to each other throughout, enhancing the swing feel by their interplay. It is particularly evident on the opening track, ‘Korean Apartment’, a masterclass in Groove. 

There is variety throughout, but all of the tunes are imbued with a sense of intimacy—the sort you might experience in a small Athens Jazz club on a balmy summer night. Unsurprisingly, Music Soup has come to the attention of notables like Tony Monaco and Pat Bianchi, the latter supplying liner notes for the album. The tunes are all originals by Karlafti and Demopoulos, except for Burt Bacherach’s ‘The Little Red Book’. The album can be purchased as a CD at www.musicsoupband.com or accessed on streaming channels. 

Personel: Evgenia Karlafti (B3 organ), Nestor Demopoulos (guitar), Vagelis Kotzabasis (drums) with Kym Purling (piano – tracks 3 & 6) and Henry Gergen (trumpet track 8).

JazzLocal32.com was rated as one of the 50 best Jazz Blogs in the world by Feedspot. The author is a professional member of the Jazz Journalists Association, a Judge in the 7VJC International Jazz Competition, and a poet & writer. Some of these posts appear on other sites with the author’s permission.