There‘s an old saying that a great jazz musician never plays a song the same way once. That
could certainly be said of Jerry Bergonzi. He is an intellectual artist of uncompromising integrity
and a bold, original composer. On Jerry‘s new Savant recording he returns to the organ-tenor
trio format after a long hiatus from it. From the opening track, Cy Coleman‘s “Witchcraft” with
its hypnotic organ vamp and “bewitching” chord substitutions Jerry gives to the first 8 bars,
you know this isn‘t going to be your parents‘ organ-tenor gig. Bergonzi and his discmates,
Renato Chicco on organ and Andrea Michelutti on drums, take these standards down new
harmonic paths and use them as a launching pad for fertile and impressive improvisation. The
playing is always intense and distinctive, fresh and spontaneous.
Jerry Bergonzi – tenor saxophone
Renato Chicco – B-3 organ
Andrea Michelutti – drums
