Claus Ogerman And His Orchestra - Soul Searchin' (2015) [Hi-Res]

Of Claus Ogerman's four mod albums for Victor, Soul Searchin' is a favorite for many because the theme, and certainly the tunes, are hip. As Ogerman's liner notes explain, he ranks soul third in significance after pop and jazz. In any case, Ogerman does a competent job covering all these songs; the title track (an Ogerman original) can be called funky, even. A large factor is Dick Hyman's Lowrey organ; his facility with both jazz and soul is in full evidence here. "The End of the Line" was a hit for Vinnie Bell, but the greater significance is that it was written by Pat Williams and Phil Ramone. The Ogerman albums on Victor share a great deal with the mod albums on Verve by Williams, Kai Winding, and others. Veering away from pop and toward soul-jazz, Soul Searchin' has a peppy jazz-boogaloo beat that feels neither constrained nor ponderous. The surprise is that it works.