The Electones

The guitar-based organ trio holds a special place in the history of jazz. Jimmy Smith with Wes Montgomery; Jack McDuff with George Benson and Grant Green; Larry Young with John McLaughlin; Tony William’s Lifetime—these are but a few exponents of an idiom that ranges from straight-ahead jazz to blues, soul, rhythm and blues, and even experimental. Emerson, Lake, and Palmer an organ trio? Of course. Modeski, Martin and Wood? Sure. Even the instrumental funk of Booker T and the MG’s qualifies (who wouldn’t have Duck Dunn as a fourth in their “trio?”) Now from this fertile musical ground emerges the Los Angeles-based Electones to embrace and further a fine tradition while simultaneously turning it on its ear. The Electones are Mike Bolger, about whom no less than Downbeat has said, “Organist Mike Bolger makes every solo an adventure;” Jason Myers, a guitarist’s guitarists who teaches at Flea’s famous Silverlake Conservatory when he’s not serving as an inspiring example of why guitar is worth studying; and Jason Pipkin, whose solid, explosive drumming proves—once again—that a little bit of Texas is an important spice in any musical stew. Or would that be, “piece in any funky puzzle?” Because while the Electones heady original compositions give plenty to think about, it's what happens from the neck down that really sets them apart. To be blunt, if you can't dance to the Electones... you can't dance. (And in that sad case, perhaps a blunt wouldn't hurt.) The Electones are one of LA's best kept secrets, with a large local following and a reputation for shows that make for fabulous nights—and less-than-fabulous next days at work. Now that the Japanese, those perpetual discoverers, nurturers, and harbingers of the original have discovered them, it may be time to give them up to the rest of the country and the world. Stand advised: when you hear them, you won't forget them.