Pete Mills & Tony Monaco - Fresh Spin (2007)

Tenor saxophonist Pete Mills and organist Tony Monaco make for a very potent musical team throughout Fresh Spin. Although the instrumentation is that of a 1960s soul-jazz organ group, the music, other than two standards ("A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing," a tenor guitar duet, and guitarist Pete McCann's "Cooked Cheese") is comprised of Mills' originals. While he has a big tone, the saxophonist's playing is much more complex and adventurous than that of the usual role models in this setting, such as Stanley Turrentine and Houston Person. The veteran organist Monaco shows a lot of flexibility and sounds comfortable in this often-sparse setting, guitarist Pete McCann has a few fine solos, drummer Jim Rupp is fine in support, and bassist Andy Woodson helps out on three numbers. Rather than emulating the usual soul-jazz bands of the '60s, this is an organ group for the 21st century. Recommended. ~ Scott Yanow