Tony Monaco: The Cat
Musicians:
Tony Monaco (organ),
Robert Kraut (guitar), Louis Tsamous (drums)
.Composed by Lalo Schifrin
.Recorded: Columbus, Ohio, May 26, 2002
Rating: 88/100 (learn more)
As a teenager, Tony Monaco suffered a polio-like disease that left him with nerve damage, yet he has become one of the more interesting organists on today’s scene. A disciple of Jimmy Smith, Monaco is sometimes given to such Hammond clichés as unreasonably long sustains, but he can chew up a tune and spit it back out, which his does with Lalo Schifrin’s classic composition “The Cat,” which became a staple of Smith. Not all jazz need be great art, and this certainly isn’t. What it is, however, is great fun – and an organ trio doesn’t get more blatantly enjoyable than what Monaco served up at the 501 Jazz Bar in Columbus, Ohio, in the spring of 2002.
Reviewer: Steve Greenlee
Tags: organ
Comments are closed.