Mike Clement: Hittin’ It

CELLAR MUSIC 803224 (RECORDED MAY 2023)

Back in the day, jazz organists would travel city-to-city, find a local drummer and guitar player, then set up shop at a club that had a mighty Hammond B3. Had he been alive back in the day, Mike Clement would have been the first call guitarist when those organ players hit Vancouver. Back in the day happens today with Hittin’ It — Clement’s latest release with the classic organ-guitar-drums format. What sets this release apart from others is more the soulful and crisp playing of Clement, organist John Lee and drummer Herlin Riley. It’s the tunes, all written by Clement! His writing captures the groovy and gritty sounds of classic organ trios but with a modern touch. The trio transforms Coltrane’s “Mr. PC” into a searing Clement original titled “Mr. Not So PC.” They show off their bebop chops on Clement’s “Cruisin’ High,” a take on Gillespie’s “Groovin’ High.” To paraphrase the title of the CD, Clement, Lee and Riley are “hittin’ it” on everything from the slow blues of “That’s It” to the shuffle beat of “So Bro” to the pure funk of “Temperance.” With “Hittin’ It” Clement joins a list of venerable guitarists — Pat Martino, Grant Green and George Benson to mention a few — who built their reputations in organ trios. Better yet, Clement adds new repertoire for those organ trios that will follow. Fans of classic organ trios will want to hit their favorite music outlet for Hittin’ It. And be on the lookout for a new release from organist John Lee coming soon on the same label.

BOTTOM LINE: A guitarist and organist from Vancouver (Mike Clement and John Lee) walk into a recording studio with a New Orleans drummer (Herlin Riley). That may sound like the beginning of a joke, but it’s the story behind Hittin’ It, one of the finest jazz organ trio sessions I have heard in a while, and that’s nothing to laugh about!