One of the steps to becoming a band leader is to drop your inhibitions and
find collaborators who play the music that you want to make. Though he
has music in his blood carrying from two generations of bandleaders before
him, drummer Greg Joseph initially found it difficult to grab the reigns of his
own ensemble. It took finding the right voices in Larry Goldings’s Hammond
organ and Steve Cardenas’s guitar to express his joyful music, which Joseph
presents for the first time on Drop The Rock.
Joseph discovered the infectious sound of the Hammond organ during his
early twenties with Wes Montgomery’s Portrait of Wes. But it was hearing
Goldings on the B3 that solidified Joseph’s love of the organ trio sound, a soulful
sound that reeks of authenticity, swinging on bebop tunes, blues changes,
or soul classics. Joseph heard Cardenas with drummer Joey Baron’s Killer Joey
ensemble and was immediately struck by the guitarist’s warmth and musicality.
After years of performing with a variety of organ groups, Joseph decided
that it was time to get his own ensemble together. That forced him to let
go of his inhibitions in order to put together his dream project and band, thus
the title of his new recording, Drop The Rock.
Drop The Rock
SSC1701
07/07/2023