Any seasoned B-3 organ lover knows or has heard of The Cadillac Club, Sparky J's or The Hickory House in Newark, or Showman's Lounge in Harlem, where organ-driven groups made heads and feet move and the walls sweat. Now take that sense memory and bring it forward to today and you have organist Akiko Tsuruga. But as the title of her new recording insists, it's Beyond Nostalgia. It's a soul-drenched, sanctified search featuring trumpeter Joe Magnarelli, tenor saxophonist Jerry Weldon, guitarist Ed Cherry and drummer Byron Landham joining Akiko's B-3 in a moving program of inspired originals, with nods to Dr. Lonnie Smith and Kurt Weill, alongside a top down, open highway ride on "What A Difference A Day Makes."
From Monday, March 11 through Friday, March 15, one cut from organist Akiko Tsuruga’s album Beyond Nostalgia will be featured each morning in the New Day, New Play spotlight on my Daybreak show.
Preview “Happy Blues” from Akiko Tsugura’s album Beyond Nostalgia, above.
