Melvin Rhyne - Kojo (Criss Cross, 1997)

Melvin Rhyne, organ
Peter Bernstein, guitar
Kenny Washington, drums
Daniel G. Sadownick, percussion

Recorded December 13, 1997

RPM Studio, NYC

Engineer: Max Bolleman

Mel Rhyne will always be associated with Wes Montgomery, having played with the legendary guitarist in their hometown of Indianapolis in the mid-to-late 1950s. In the 60s, several of Montgomery's trio recordings on Riverside featured Rhyne. Montgomery died in 1968 at age 45, but Rhyne lived until 2013, 

Kojo employs the organ-guitar-drums format that was popularized during the 1950s and 1960s. Jimmy Smith, Jack McDuff, Shirley Scott, “Baby Face” Willette, Jimmy McGriff, Richard "Groove" Holmes, and others led the soul-jazz organ movement. Often tenor players joined along with additional percussionists. I enjoyed hearing these albums in my youth.

In the 1990s, Criss Cross was firmly established as a label that consistently recorded jazz both by new artists and veterans like Rhyne. The Legend (1992) includes the same trio as Kojo, minus percussionist Daniel G. Sadownick. Boss Organ (1994) followed, adding tenorist Joshua Redman to the lineup. Tenors also joined the trio for Stick to the Kick (1995) and Tell It Like It Is (1997). Mel's Spell (1996) returned to the trio format. 

Rhyne continued recording after the turn of the century. His last album was with guitarist Royce Campbell in 2011: Make Me Rainbows (Positive Music, 2011).

The program on Kojo varies between standard ballads ("In a Sentimental Mood") to bebop ("Blue 'n' Boogie"). The best material lies in between. The loping pace of "I Wish I Knew" and "A Time for Love" are the album's highlights. The funkiest tunes are the shuffles "Blues for Mike and Teju" and "Loose Change." The latter feels a lot like Horace Silver's "Song for My Father," but has a catchy change of tempo at the end of each chorus.

Throughout, it is Peter Bernstein who shines the brightest. His tone is superb, and at any tempo he executes classic single-note runs that would make Grant Green envious. Drummer Kenny Washington, although not given solo space, holds the proceedings together. The added percussion on two selections works for "Loose Change," but makes "Dorothy," the closing number, a bit overcooked and too long at 9:20 minutes.

I give an A+ for the recording by Max Bolleman, the Dutch engineer working in a New York studio. He captures the organ's low pedals, its chocolatey midrange, and right-hand keyboard details. Bernstein, who typically needs no sonic boosts, benefits from an accurate rendering of his custom John Zeidler Archtop guitar. Bolleman's mix also allows the listener to distinguish Sadownick's added percussion from Washington's standard kit.