'Queen Talk' by Shirley Scott
John Coletrane’s “Impressions” launched the set on a fiercely swinging note. Tenor saxophonist George Coleman took the lead role, with Bobby Durham’s hard-pounding drumming at his side, in pushing the music to the edge. But make no mistake: the trio was anchored by organist Shirley Scott, tapping heavy melodies—and bass rhythms—from her Hammond B3 and keeping abreast of her bandmates’ quick changes.
The previously unreleased session, spread across two discs, was recorded live in 1972 at Baltimore’s Famous Ballroom. It must have been a steaming night. Scott was among the leading exponents of soul-jazz organ, playing with equal parts soul and advanced jazz. The interplay between the three musicians was spot on and hard hitting. This was not one of those sleepy “You take your solo, I’ll take mine” outings. Scott took the set in many directions, including an easy on the ears rendition of Jimmy Webb (“By the Time I Get to Phoenix”), Charlie Chaplin (“Smile”) at a rapid clip and even Jim Croce (“You Don’t Mess Around with Jim”) transformed into hip urban soul.
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