Marc Ribot: The Jazz-Bins

(Organ Trio)

MARC RIBOT: THE JAZZ-BINS

Marc Ribot’s four months with jazz organ legend Brother Jack McDuff were his first ever with an internationally touring artist. Their 1979 itinerary included Ribot’s first concerts in Europe, and his only to date in Gary, Indiana and Rochester, NY. Although the two never recorded together (due to artistic differences that became apparent in Ribot’s later work...Brother Jack reportedly spent much of their stage time fixing Ribot with what sidemusicians referred to as his “death ray”), Ribot never lost his affection for McDuff’s music and the Hammond organ dominated Soul Jazz scene from which it emerged. Says Ribot: “McDuff's US audiences—the so-called ‘Chitlin Circuit— were just the hippest in the world: sophisticated about the music, definitely…but also demanding the deepest soul while rewarding restraint in its expression. What this brought out in the musicians was every bit as intense as the music taking shape at CBGBs at the time. In fact, I always felt the two scenes had something in common, and I’ve been trying to express exactly what ever since."

Fellow Jazz-Bin, Greg Lewis, is not only one of the greatest virtuosos of the Hammond b3 organ alive, but perhaps the only one willing and able to haul a real Hammond b3 and Leslie speaker cabinet to live gigs in NYC! Says Ribot: “Greg is NYC’s best kept secret. He can tell a story on the Hammond like nobody else”.

The bands rhythmic driver is New Orleans’ own Joe Dyson, (now living in Brooklyn), who lists among his credits Dr. Lonnie Smith, Ellis Marsalis, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Jon Batiste, Leo Nocentelli, Sullivan Fortner, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Pedrito Martinez, Nicholas Payton and Pat Metheny among others. Marc says: “Joe get’s the organ Jazz tradition perfectly: but wherever we take it, he brings groove, soul, and fire”.

The Jazz-Bins use deep grooves and over the top improvisation to channel the spirits of Newark’s Key Club Sparky J’s Lounge, and NYC’s CBGB’s c/a 1977 into a quest for punk/soul salvation. The Jazz-Bins go— not exactly ‘ancient’, but ‘back’— to the future, to tap into a scene that never really existed (but should have, will, and does whenever people drop their preconceptions about ‘genre’ long enough to feel the groove), and a vibe that never really stopped. Dig it!

Photos

(click on photo to download High-Res)

Press

Milwaukee Record (Live Review)
Shepherd Express (Live Review)
Der Standard (Preview - Austria)
Metro Philadelphia (Interview)
Art Fuse (Live Review - Boston)

Performance History

THE JAZZ-BINS - USA
Marc Ribot - guitar, Greg Lewis - B3 organ, Joe Dyson - drums
04/10/24 Milwaukee, WI - Vivarium
04/11/24 Minneapolis, MN - Dakota
04/12/24 Berwyn, IL - FitzGerald’s
04/13/24 Cleveland, OH - Bop Stop

THE JAZZ-BINS US MINI TOUR (w/Greg Lewis & Chad Taylor)
2/22/23 Vienna, VA - The Barns of Wolf Trap (co-bill w/ The Bad Plus)
2/23/23 Philadelphia, PA - Solar Myth
2/24/23: New York, NY - Le Poisson Rouge
2/25/23: Boston, MA - Crystal Ballroom (co-bill w/ The Bad Plus)
2/26/23: Portsmouth, NH - Press Room (2 shows: 4pm set Tix / 7pm set Tix )
The Jazz-Bins w/Greg Lewis & Joe Dyson)
3/30/23: Memphis, TN - Crosstown Arts (co-bill w/ The Bad Plus)
3/31/23: Knoxville, TN - Big Ears Festival

THE JAZZ-BINS EURO TOUR (w/Greg Lewis & Joe Dyson)
14.04.2023 DORTMUND/Germany - Domicil Tickets
15.04.2023 NOVARA/Italy
16.04.2023 MÜNCHEN/Germany - Jazzclub Unterfahrt Tickets
17.04.2023 INNSBRUCK/Austria - Treibhaus
18.04.2023 PARIS/France - Banlieues Bleues
19.04.2023 TILBURG/Netherlands - Muziekpodium Paradox
21.04.2023 OVAR/Portugal
22.04.2023 GENEVA/Switzerland - AMR - Sud des Alpes
23.04.2023 ST. ULRICH IN GREITH/Austria Tickets
24.04.2023 WIEN/Austria - Porgy & Bess Jazz & Music Club Tickets
25.04.2023 TRUTNOV/Czech Republic - UFFO Trutnov
26.04.2023 PRAGUE/Czech Republic - Palac Akropolis
28.04.2023 BERLIN/Germany - KMS Philharmonie Tickets
29.04.2023 ATHENS/Greece - Athens Conservatoire Amphitheatre Tickets