PAPATAMUS REDUX

CELLAR MUSIC 120525 (RELEASED SEPTEMBER 25, 2026))

Although the quartet on Watch Your Step had appeared together at Frankie’s Jazz Club in Vancouver prior to the recording session, saxophonist Doug Webb didn’t send any music in advance or give much direction to organist Brian Charette, guitarist Dave Sikula and drummer John Lee about what he wanted to play. Despite the element of surprise as Webb called tunes in the studio, the music, masterfully played throughout, is not particularly surprising. Watch Your Step delivers all the hallmarks of the classic power-packed organ combos of the past: the gutsy sound of the tenor saxophone, the twills of the Hammond B-3, the rhythmic comping of the guitar and the driving grooves of the drums. The blues dominates the session, in all its various forms, with compositions by Webb ranging from the slow, greasy “The Webb We Weave” to the swinging “For Sonny” and the fast and furious “Trapped in the Webb.” Beyond the blues, there’s the funkier feel of “Five for Horace,” the pop-inflected groove of “Calvin Is Here,” the old-time character of “She’s Funny That Way,” enhanced by Lee’s brushwork, and the heartfelt rendition of Duke Ellington’s “I Didn’t Know About You.” There are even two waltzes: Webb’s lilting “Lullaby for James” and an upbeat take on Lerner and Loewe’s “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face.” As on those classic organ sessions of the past, Webb gives everyone plenty of room to stretch out in soulful solos, including a trading-fours exchange with Lee on “Trapped in the Webb” and a saxophone exchange with Cellar Music’s Cory Weeds on the title track. The real surprise came when Charette, who has worked with Webb on four previous sessions, had to leave the studio to replace a cable connecting the organ to the Leslie speaker. Rather than wait for his return, Webb and Sikula took that opportunity to record duo versions of Johnny Green’s “Body and Soul,” complete with a signature cadenza, as well as a breathtaking version of Irene Higginbotham’s “Good Morning Heartache.” Watch Your Step may not add anything new to the organ-combo format, but it is a soulful and delightful listening experience for fans of the genre.

BOTTOM LINE: Cellar Music continues to relish the music of the 1950s and ’60s with Watch Your Step, a funky, bluesy and soulful set from saxophonist Doug Webb with organist Brian Charette, guitarist Dave Sikula and drummer John Lee. It has all the hallmarks of a classic organ-combo session: a variety of grooves, soulful solos and the gutsy tenor sound of the leader.