Dealin' Wid It

Pittsburgh-born Bill Heid penned all but one of the tunes on 'Dealin' Wid It' himself, with all of them channelling the musical spirits of such Hammond luminaries as Don Patterson, "Big" John Patton, "Baby Face" Willette, Larry Young, Jimmy Smith and Jack McDuff.

Called by Mozart "The King of the Instruments," the organ went from sacred to salacious when it left the church and began turning up in jazz clubs in the 1950s, it was at that time that the model B-3 organ was assimilated into the jazz line-up and became a sought-after solo instrument. Its hipper-than-hip tone colour and thumping bass pedals defined an instrumental sound that mesmerises the instrument's aficionados to this very day. Heid knows the B-3's history well and his playing ranges from the boppish to the bodacious. From 1965 into the late 70's, he worked the "chicken shack clubs" in Baltimore, Newark, Detroit and Chicago, often with greats like Sonny Stitt, David "Fathead" Newman, Mickey Roker, Roger Humphries, Henry Johnson, Jimmy Ponder and Peter Bernstein.

The album closes with a too-cool-for-school reading of "Hurt So Bad," which looks back with a knowing glance to the Richard "Groove" Holmes version. Throughout the 10 tracks, the band plays with a soulful feeling, a great sense of ensemble and no small amount of infectious joy - drummer Randy Gelispie hits exactly the right mix of blues and swing, with his relaxed, in-the-pocket feel, and Perry Hughes on guitar ties things together with his own thoughtful style in his imaginative and satisfying solo breaks.

Bill Heid: Hammond organ, vocals (tracks 3 & 6)
Perry Hughes: guitar
Randy Gelispie: drums
Kevin "Bujo" Jones: percussion