The Jazz Organ Trio Lives on Thanks to Larry Goldings et al. » PopMatters

Organ trios aren’t as common as they once were. With the keyboardist handling the bass duties from the Hammond’s bass pedals and a guitarist or tenor saxophonist providing melodic help on top of a grooving drummer, these bands once turned bars into real music halls. Today, bars are alive with the sound of ESPN, alas, perhaps.

This organ trio of guitarist Peter Bernstein, organist Larry Goldings, and drummer Bill Stewart, however, don’t generally play funky blues workouts. Rhombus is a beautifully balanced survey of modern jazz compositions by masters, along with two originals. In fact, these tunes seem somewhat surprising in this instrumentation. Keith Jarrett rarely recorded with a guitarist; Abdullah Ibrahim, Thelonious Monk, and Randy Weston were notably percussive pianists whose styles were on the other side of the spectrum from Goldings’ legato organ washes; Wayne Shorter composed probing melodies rarely investigated by organ trios.

Active and recording since the early 1990s, every member of this band is celebrated on their instrument. Goldings is an elite B3 player, Bernstein is one of the music’s best post-bop guitarists, and Bill Stewart is a first-call jazz drummer. Each player is renowned as a sensitive listener who makes the band greater than the sum of their parts. Bernstein/Goldings/Stewart are better understood as a contemporary jazz group of deep thinkers rather than merely an “organ trio”.

Shorter’s “Penelope” (recorded in 1965 for the album Etcetera) is a masterpiece of mystery. Bernstein interprets the melody in a pure-tone legato, and Goldings’ organ is more a hushed hum than any set of chordal accompaniment. Stewart plays in subtle pastels, particularly during Goldings’ exceptional improvisation. When Bernstein reenters with the melody, his bandmates lift the song in small ways, suggesting a breaking dawn.

This kind of sensitive interaction is the rule on Rhombus. Keith Jarrett’s “Everything That Lives Laments” (first recorded for 1971’s The Mourning of a Star with his piano trio) is treated in a way that honors the original’s rubato balladry, then gently flowers into a swaying Brazilian feel. “Momma” bears the unmistakable melodic mark of South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, with a simplicity and soulful gospel touches.

The trio never overemphasizes the blues here, but Bernstein’s guitarism can’t help but remind one of Grant Green’s soulful playing. When it’s Goldings’ turn to solo, the spirit rises. It’s church time. But every lick and give-and-take with Stewart’s rhythmic support is held in balance. The performance has a delicate coolness reminiscent of Ibrahim.

The trio also cook. The Irving Berlin standard “They Say It’s Wonderful” starts at a gentle lope but quickly develops into a swinger, quietly at the start of a wide-ranging Goldings solo and with increasing assertion that extends into Bernstein’s bopping workout. The guitarist is caught frequently following Thelonious Monk’s famous advice not to forget to play the melody, circling back to Berlin’s tastiest melodic cells. Monk is also surveyed with an uptempo “In Walked Bud,” taken at a delicious pace like a river after rainfall. Stewart solos, also mindful to “play the melody”.

Both of the originals are worth your while. Goldings’ “Rhombus” benefits from cool changes and a memorable theme that the guitar and organ play together in bright harmonic parallelism. The guitarist contributes “Dissipation Blues”, a hip theme based on call-and-response between his axe and the organ. Here, the band sound most like an old-school “organ trio”, having fun, swapping licks and accents as they solo, and reminding you why this kind of jazz was always so much fun.

Long before I ever really dug into music by Jimmy Smith, Charles Earland, Jimmy McGriff, or Jack McDuff, I heard Timeless by guitarist John Abercrombie, in which he plays modern/fusion with an organ trio featuring Jam Hammer on keys and Jack DeJohnette on drums. I was hearing that blend of guitar and organ (and also some interesting piano and synth) for the first time as a serious listener. Its propulsive modernity knocked me out—the electric blend of organ and amplified guitar had a sprinkling of “rock”, but also the daring, exploratory impulse of 1970s jazz.

To my ears, Bernstein/Goldings/Stewart find the cool sound of that Abercrombie band while also staying utterly in the pocket with the more traditional organ trios. Of course, players like Larry Young (in Tony Williams Lifetime) and Joey DeFrancesco have made similar contributions to the genre, bridging generations of B3/guitar combinations. However, in 2026, this band are a near-ideal embodiment of the jazz organ trio: swinging and bluesy, yet in command of the jazz vocabulary of the last half-century.

Rhombus is a strong album, and its choice of repertoire makes it unusually interesting to revisit multiple times. You have great players, great tunes by the masters, and the gentle surprise and pleasure of hearing this instrumentation play those tunes with exquisite listening skills. May the organ trio format live on!