Like
Barbara Dennerlein,
Larry Goldings was among the few organists who, in the 1980s and '90s, refused to stick to a grits-and-gravy approach to the instrument. This isn't to say that
Goldings has escaped
Jimmy Smith's influence altogether or that he lacks funk, blues, and soul-jazz credentials -- one of his employers, after all, was
Maceo Parker, who spent many years in
James Brown's band. But
Goldings hasn't ignored the post-bop challenges that
Larry Young presented, and
Young's influence can be felt on
Moonbird. Joined by drummer
Bill Stewart and the
Grant Green-influenced guitarist
Peter Bernstein,
Goldings delivers a rewarding post-bop date that will hardly be mistaken for
Smith-minded soul-jazz.
Goldings originals like the congenial "Christine," the intriguing "Empty Oceans," and the cerebal "Xoloft" aren't innovative -- 35 years earlier,
Young was playing post-bop on the Hammond B-3. But
Goldings nonetheless comes across as his own man, and his refusal to be yet another
Jimmy Smith clone is commendable. The Bostonian also deserves applause for successfully transforming
Randy Newman's "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" and
Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock" into improvisatory jazz -- at a time when too many jazzmen were content to play the same old
Cole Porter and
Irving Berlin songs time and time again,
Goldings had enough imagination to find the jazz potential in pop/rock songs that more myopic improvisers were ignoring. Not quite a gem but definitely solid,
Moonbird is a CD that post-bop fans will enjoy.