Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Wild Card: Beast From The East

Wild Card: Beast From The East

By Chris May
January 24, 2020
View read count

The impact of

Jimmy Smith

organ, Hammond B3
1925 - 2005

" data-original-title="" title="">Jimmy Smith's organ trio in the mid 1950s was by all accounts massive. Nothing quite like it had been heard before in popular music. Smith unleashed a wailing, high decibel (for the era) monster which was also capable of expressing gentler moods. Audiences and record buyers went ape and Smith's label, Blue Note, got some sustaining cash-flow. Other labels could not get on the bandwagon fast enough and dozens of similar lineups emerged. But like many sensations, the organ trio's novelty was finite and the Hammond B3 itself ultimately proved to be a cumbersome instrument with a restricted palette and a chronic difficulty with nuance.

A niche audience for organ trios remained though and it continues to thrive. British group

Wild Card

band / ensemble / orchestra

" data-original-title="" title="">Wild Card, led by the French guitarist

Clement Regert

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Clement Regert, has built up a solid following since debuting in 2008 with Mixity (Top End Records). The band is a lot of fun and R��gert keep things relatively fresh by weaving a variety of styles into the book. On Beast From The East, the group's fifth album, these include hard bop, funk, samba and ska.

The ace in Wild Card's pack, however, are its guest musicians, who allow it to paint on a sonic canvas larger than the one available to the core trio alone. A chicken-shack organ / guitar / drums vibe defines most of the band's music, but the toplines are enriched by the sounds of blown-through wind instruments, which even synthesisers, let alone Hammond B3s, simply cannot emulate. Saxophones, trumpets, trombones and, on Beast From The East, a harmonica, ring the changes.

Standout tracks are "Tales From Hanoi," a samba featuring percussionist Joao Caetano, "Do It Like A Girl," a poignant ballad showcasing

Adam Glasser

piano
b.1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Adam Glasser's harmonica, and "Beast From The East" and "Black Tower," both lifted by gutsy solos from

Tim Garland

clarinet, bass
b.1966

" data-original-title="" title="">Tim Garland on tenor saxophone. All the tunes are R��gert originals except the closer, Norman Whitfield's funk classic "Papa Was A Rolling Stone," played fast. It is the least successful track. Funk needs bass and we are not talking lugubrious organ pedals but a carnal, percussive, heavy on the downbeat, string bass, preferably an electric one. Come in

Bootsy Collins

bass, electric
b.1951

" data-original-title="" title="">Bootsy Collins, we need you.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

The Saga Of Harrison Crabfeathers; Beast From The East; Tales From Hanoi; Black Tower; Do It Like A Girl; Doctor K; The Struggle; Asparagus Moment 11; L��Empire Des Anges; Screen Walkers; Papa Was A Rolling Stone.

Personnel

Wild Card

band / ensemble / orchestra

Clement Regret: acoustic and electric guitars; Andre Noble: B3 Hammond organ; Sophie Alloway: drums; Jim Knight: alto saxophone (5, 8, 9); Duncan Eagles: tenor saxophone (1, 3, 6); Tim Garland: tenor saxophone (2, 4, 7); Graeme Flowers: trumpet; Rosie Turton: trombone (1, 3, 6); Barnaby Dickinson: trombone (2, 4, 7, 10); Alistair White: trombone (11); Adam Glasser: harmonica (5); Joao Caetano: percussion (1, 3, 6); Emilia Martensson: vocals (1); Imaani: vocals (1).

Album information

Title: Beast From The East | Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: Top End Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Take Five with Boaz Marva
< Previous

The Mighty Unlikely
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.