By the 1940s the organ had migrated from black churches into jazz nightclubs with the advent of the Hammond B3, an electric instrument whose thick tones appealed to many jazz musicians. Tenor saxophonist Keith Oxman leads the trio heard on East of the Village, but he shares the spotlight with Jeff Jenkins on the mighty B3. With the exception of three originals composed in period style, the tracks are standards or at least familiar numbers in the jazz repertoire—melodies the classic organ trios of the ’40s and ’50s would have known. Oxman draws melodic curlicues over Jenkins’ rock solid foundation and the spry percussion of drummer Todd Reid.
