From the outset, you can tell this is a working band. When they come out of the head on the opener, “The Great Divide,” there’s an immediate hookup between organist Jared Gold’s surging bass lines and drummer Tony Reedus’ insistent ride cymbal work that just feels so right. It speaks of a chemistry that has been forged in the fires of countless gigs at places like the Dancing Goat Café and Cecil’s Place, two popular New Jersey nightspots where this loose-tight unit holds forth on a semi-regular basis. Stryker rides on top of that organically swinging groove with obvious pleasure, summoning up a flow of warm-toned single-note lines and Wes-like octaves on his trusty Gibson ES-347 with soulful nonchalance. And when they take the tempo down a notch, collectively falling into a laid-back, loping, swing groove during Gold’s organ solo, it’s the kind of group-think that takes more than a minute to establish on the bandstand. |