Kyle Asche Organ Trio - Blues For Mel (2009)

Kyle Asche: guitar; Melvin Rhyne: organ; George Fludas: drums and percussion.

Chicago-based guitarist Kyle Asche opens his sophomore release, Blues for Mel, with the set's title tune, a tribute to Melvin Rhyne, the organist who most famously played with guitarist Wes Montgomery on four stellar Riverside releases in the late fifties and early sixties. The tune is a cool Montgomery-ish ride, drenched in the organ trio tradition. Asche's licks are clean and concise. The drummer, George Fludas, accents the trio sound with finesse and subtle flourishes, a polished energy, and the organist injects an assured, sometimes percussive bounce to the sound, much in the Montgomery Trio mode. No surprise there, because the guy on the organ is the very man who accompanied Montgomery on those legendary Riverside dates, Melvin Rhyne himself. ~Dan McClenaghan