It was a little early for guitarist Jimmy James, and he told his band mates he was feeling cranky. But having just come off a pair of road trip Northwest tours, it was all in the family with Delvon Lamarr and drummer David McGraw (co-founder with James of the hot Seattle soul group The True Loves) pushing their friend's buttons until everyone was laughing.
This good-time feeling filled our studios as the DLO3 gave us three cool groovers soaked in the '60s and '70s traditions of funky organ, guitar and drum trios of Jimmy Smith, Big John Patton, Jack McDuff and others.
In fact, they started off with Patton's song "Memphis" before digging into their own unreleased "Tacoma Black Party" and the title song from last year's album "Close, But No Cigar."
Delvon told us how he miraculously moved from playing drums to the Hammond organ, and a great story about pushing the unwieldy instrument down the middle of 2nd Avenue when the city was blocked off for a Seafair parade and marathon traffic.
When asked if they thought jazz fans might consider them a soul or funk band instead of jazz, the band told us that jazz can come from any music, and their soulful grooves made for a perfect launching pad for improvisation.
Bottom line, says Jimmy James, don't worry what it is - if it feels good, play it.
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