Executive Overview
For decades, the jazz organ trio stood as the lifeblood of urban nightlife—a lean, mean musical machine capable of transforming neighborhood watering holes into swinging bastards of music halls. Powered by the hypnotic sweep of the Hammond B3 organ, where the keyboardist expertly anchors the bottom-end groove utilizing the bass pedals, paired with the nimble melodic framework of a guitar or tenor sax and driven by an interlocking drummer, this format was defined by raw soul, greasy blues, and infectious danceability.
Yet, as the sonic architecture of modern entertainment evolved and traditional music venues gave way to sports bars alive with the constant chime of television broadcasts, the classic organ trio format faced a quiet marginalization. It risked being pigeonholed as a historical artifact—a nostalgic echo of a bygone era dominated by the gritty workouts of Jimmy Smith, Jack McDuff, and Charles Earland.
Enter Rhombus (released August 7, 2026, via Smoke Session Records), a masterclass in contemporary jazz released by a super-trio consisting of guitarist Peter Bernstein, organist Larry Goldings, and drummer Bill Stewart. Rather than leaning purely on predictable, high-octane blues jams, this elite collective has crafted a sophisticated, deeply introspective survey of modern jazz composition. By tackling cerebral, probing material originally written by pianists and horn players—such as Wayne Shorter, Keith Jarrett, Abdullah Ibrahim, and Thelonious Monk—the trio challenges the traditional boundaries of the instrument configuration.
Far more than a standard "organ trio," Bernstein, Goldings, and Stewart operate as a modern chamber-jazz ensemble of profound thinkers and peerless listeners. Rhombus proves that the Hammond B3, when placed in the hands of modern virtuosos, is infinitely malleable, capable of whispering delicate impressionistic poetry just as easily as it can deliver a roaring, church-infused Sunday service.
Detailed Chronology and Track-by-Track Breakdown
Active and recording as a collective unit since the early 1990s, the partnership of Bernstein, Goldings, and Stewart is built upon a telepathic foundation of mutual respect and shared musical history. Each musician is an undisputed master of their respective craft: Goldings stands among the elite tier of modern B3 interpreters; Bernstein is celebrated as one of the premier post-bop guitarists of his generation; and Stewart is universally recognized as a first-call, stylistically omnivorous jazz drummer.
On Rhombus, this cumulative mastery is weaponized in service of a challenging and unexpected repertoire, charting a chronological and stylistic map through the twentieth-century jazz canon.
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| "RHOMBUS" TRACK HIGHLIGHTS |
+--------------------------+-----------------------+----------------------+
| Song Title | Original Artist | Trio's Approach |
+--------------------------+-----------------------+----------------------+
| "Penelope" | Wayne Shorter (1965) | Pure-tone legato, |
| | | hushed B3 hum, |
| | | pastel drumming. |
+--------------------------+-----------------------+----------------------+
| "Everything That Lives | Keith Jarrett (1971) | Rubato balladry |
| Laments" | | evolving into a |
| | | swaying Brazilian |
| | | groove. |
+--------------------------+-----------------------+----------------------+
| "Momma" | Abdullah Ibrahim | Gospel touches, |
| | | spacious South |
| | | African swing. |
+--------------------------+-----------------------+----------------------+
| "They Say It's | Irving Berlin | Gentle lope |
| Wonderful" | | expanding into an |
| | | assertive bop |
| | | workout. |
+--------------------------+-----------------------+----------------------+Unlocking Wayne Shorter and Keith Jarrett
The album opens its stylistic explorations with Wayne Shorter’s "Penelope," originally recorded in 1965 for the enigmatic Blue Note album Etcetera. Shorter’s compositions are notoriously labyrinthine, defined by elusive harmonic trajectories that jazz instrumentalists rarely investigate within an organ trio setting. Here, Bernstein interprets the intricate melody with a pure-tone legato that cuts cleanly through the arrangement. Goldings eschews thick, percussive chordal stabs in favor of a hushed, sustained hum, functioning almost like ambient string synthesis. Behind them, Bill Stewart paints in delicate pastels, reacting dynamically—particularly during Goldings’ soaring improvisation—before the band gently ushers the listener back into the main theme like the first light of a breaking dawn.
This climate of hyper-sensitive interaction defines the ethos of Rhombus. Keith Jarrett’s "Everything That Lives Laments," first captured on the 1971 piano trio LP The Mourning of a Star, receives a treatment that honors the source material’s sorrowful rubato balladry before organically blossoming into a swaying, buoyant Brazilian rhythmic feel.
Similarly, "Momma" bears the undeniable structural and emotional footprint of South African master pianist Abdullah Ibrahim. The trio approaches the tune with stark simplicity, infusing it with subtle gospel inflections. While the blues is never far from the surface—Bernstein’s phrasing frequently evokes the timeless, soulful elegance of Grant Green—the performance maintains an airy, delicate coolness reminiscent of Ibrahim’s signature touch.
Swinging the Standards and Modern Bop
When the trio decides to cook, however, their collective power is undeniable. The classic Irving Berlin standard "They Say It’s Wonderful" begins as a gentle, relaxed lope before steadily gathering momentum. It expands into a full-scale swinging affair, kick-started by a wide-ranging, exploratory organ solo from Goldings that builds in assertion before handing the reins over to Bernstein for a brisk, bebop-infused guitar workout. True to Thelonious Monk’s famous pedagogical advice to instrumentalists—never forget to play the melody—Bernstein continually circles back to Berlin’s most appetizing melodic cells throughout his improvisation.
Monk himself is honored directly with an uptempo rendition of "In Walked Bud." Taken at a dizzying, refreshing pace that flows like a rain-swollen river, the track features a standout solo from Stewart, who demonstrates a drummer’s ultimate discipline by keeping the song’s underlying melodic narrative locked firmly in mind, even amidst complex polyrhythms.
The Original Compositions
While the cover choices showcase the trio’s curatorial brilliance, the album’s two original compositions prove that Bernstein and Goldings are just as formidable as writers as they are as interpreters.
- "Rhombus" (composed by Larry Goldings): Built upon cool, shifting harmonic changes and a razor-sharp, memorable theme, this track features the guitar and organ locked in tight, bright harmonic parallelism. It establishes a sleek, modern architectural aesthetic that justifies the album’s title.
- "Dissipation Blues" (composed by Peter Bernstein): A hip, traditional-leaning theme driven by snappy call-and-response dynamics between Bernstein’s guitar and Goldings’ B3. On this track, the trio leans closest to the aesthetics of a classic, old-school organ combo, audibly enjoying themselves as they swap licks, trade rhythmic accents, and remind listeners why this specific configuration of instruments has captivated audiences for generations.
Supporting Context and Historical Metrics
To fully appreciate the artistic triumph of Rhombus, one must examine the lineage of the guitar-organ-drums configuration within the broader continuum of jazz history. Historically, the organ trio flourished during the mid-20th century soul-jazz explosion. Labels like Blue Note, Prestige, and Verve capitalized on the visceral energy of artists who could generate the sonic footprint of a six-piece big band using only three instruments.
However, as jazz drifted toward modal experimentation, fusion, and avant-garde explorations during the late 1960s and 1970s, the traditional organ trio occasionally struggled to keep pace with changing avant-garde aesthetics. A pivotal turning point arrived with boundary-pushing projects like guitarist John Abercrombie’s 1974 ECM masterpiece Timeless, which paired Abercrombie with keyboardist Jan Hammer and drummer Jack DeJohnette. That landmark recording infused the classic organ-guitar-drums format with the electric, exploratory impulse of 1970s jazz-rock fusion, utilizing synthesizers and expansive compositional forms.
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| EVOLUTION OF THE JAZZ ORGAN-GUITAR DIALECTIC |
+-------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------------+
| Era | Defining Artists | Primary Aesthetic Focus |
+-------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------------+
| 1950s–1960s | Jimmy Smith, | Gritty blues, greasy |
| | Jack McDuff, | grooves, heavy foot-pedal |
| | Grant Green | basslines, tavern settings. |
+-------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------------+
| 1970s | John Abercrombie, | Electric fusion, modal |
| | Larry Young | exploration, incorporation |
| | (Tony Williams | of synthesizers and rock |
| | Lifetime) | textures. |
+-------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------------+
| 1990s–Present | Joey DeFrancesco, | Inter-generational |
| | Goldings/Bernstein/ | synthesis, balancing hard |
| | Stewart | bop with modern chamber |
| | | jazz complexity. |
+-------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------------+Subsequent innovators like Larry Young (most notably with the Tony Williams Lifetime) and, later, the prodigious B3 phenom Joey DeFrancesco continuously bridged generations, ensuring that the vocabulary of the Hammond organ expanded beyond standard blues progressions.
In 2026, the trio of Bernstein, Goldings, and Stewart represents the gold standard of this evolutionary process. They successfully synthesize the swinging, pocket-driven blues foundation of the 1960s with the sophisticated, harmonically dense vocabulary of the last half-century of jazz innovation.
Official Statements and Critical Reception
The release of Rhombus has triggered widespread critical acclaim within contemporary jazz journalism, cementing the project as a high-water mark for all three participating artists.
Speaking on the conceptual approach behind selecting non-traditional repertoire for an organ-guitar-drums setup, the members have emphasized the importance of telepathic listening over sheer volume and pyrotechnics.
"When you’ve been playing together for over three decades, the notes you choose not to play become just as important as the ones you do," notes organist Larry Goldings in promotional materials accompanying the release. "We didn’t set out to make a ‘traditional’ organ record. We wanted to see how far we could stretch these master compositions—from Wayne Shorter to Keith Jarrett—without losing the inherent intimacy and groove that our specific instrumentation provides."
Guitarist Peter Bernstein highlights the unique challenges of arranging complex pianistic and horn-driven arrangements for a guitar-fronted trio:
"Pieces like Wayne’s ‘Penelope’ or Abdullah Ibrahim’s music carry such distinct emotional weight. As a guitarist, you aren’t just filling space; you are navigating a landscape built by pianists who thought in entirely different colors. Bill, Larry, and I spend a lot of time listening to each other breathe within the tune, allowing the music to dictate its own volume and momentum."
Reviewers have universally praised the album’s structural balance. Jazz critics note that Rhombus succeeds precisely because it avoids the fatigue of relentless, high-volume organ workouts, offering instead a dynamic listening experience that rewards multiple close re-examinations. The chemistry between Stewart’s featherlight yet propulsive drumming and Goldings’ nuanced harmonic carpet has been singled out as a masterclass in modern small-group interaction.
Future Outlook: The Enduring Legacy of the Organ Trio
As the music industry continues to fragment across digital streaming ecosystems and niche genre boundaries, instrumental jazz faces the ongoing challenge of remaining vital to contemporary audiences while honoring its rich historical lineages. Projects like Rhombus provide a clear blueprint for how legacy formats can reinvent themselves without losing their core identity.
Looking forward, the success of Bernstein, Goldings, and Stewart points toward a promising horizon for modern chamber jazz. By proving that the Hammond B3 organ is fully equipped to navigate complex modal frameworks, rubato balladry, and intricate post-bop compositions, the trio has effectively future-proofed the organ-trio configuration.
Future generations of musicians studying the intersection of jazz guitar and keyboard instrumentation will undoubtedly look to Rhombus as a defining textbook example of how deep listening, historical reverence, and fearless artistic curiosity can breathe new life into a classic format. May the organ trio format live on, thriving not merely as a relic of smoky taverns past, but as a dynamic, ever-evolving vehicle for the highest levels of musical expression.
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