Composer,
drummer and bandleader Towner Galaher is from Portland, Oregon, and
started playing drums at the age of nine after watching The Beatles on
TV. He absolutely wanted to learn and practiced six hours a day. After high school, he immediately entered the club scene and played all kinds of gigs for 11 years. In 1986 he moved to New York City to fully immerse himself in the jazz world.
Meanwhile, he himself has been teaching for more than 40 years, including 21 years in the New York City Public Schools. Towner blends a variety of rhythmic elements he learned from Headhunters drummer Mike Clark, Afro-Cuban drummer Frankie Malabe, Brazilian drummer Duduka Da Fonseca, and New Orleans drummer Ricky Sebastian.
This is Towner's fourth album as a leader, and this time he chose to pay homage to the great jazz ensembles that were especially popular during the fifties and sixties. Recorded during the Covid lockdown at a restaurant in Connecticut, ‘Live’ features an organ trio.
Towner plays here in the company of organist Lonnie Gasperini and guitarist Marvin Horne. Together they bring a mixture of standards and five original tracks. Jimmy McGriff receives a tribute with the bluesy opener 'One for McGriff', followed by the well-known 'Fever', best known by Peggy Lee.
The ballad 'Willow Weep for Me' gets a different arrangement, and becomes a jazzy waltz, followed by a cover of Jack McDuff's 'Hot Barbecue'. Then follows a tresillo, a three-measure pulse from New Orleans called ‘Norleans’, which is a track by Dr. Lonnie Smith. The ballad 'Lover Man' by Billie Holiday forms a resting point, after which 'Keep Talkin' also feels bluesy again. But Lou Donaldson's ‘Alligator Boogaloo’ shows us a funky side.
You can also say the same about 'Lonnie's Funk', although this is more old school R&B funk. The Fats Domino hit 'I'm Walkin' has you rocking the groove, after which 'North Beach Blues' sounds perfect for going out. 'Little Bit of This, Little Bit of That' really swings out of control.
Jimmy Smith's 'Mellow Mood' can be ranked with soul jazz, and to close there is an alternative, soulful version of the opener 'One for McGriff'.
A nice album that puts the Hammond B-3 organ in the spotlight. This album therefore deserves more attention, because it is a tribute to those trios from the past.
Tracks:
Fever
Willow Weep for Me
Hot Barbecue
Norleans
Lover Man
Keep Talkin’
Alligator Boogaloo
Lonnie’s Funk
I’m Walkin’
North Beach Blues
Little Bit of This, Little Bit of That
Mellow Mood
One for McGriff (alternate take)
Towner Galaher Organ Trio