Raphael Wressnig & Igor Prado – Groove & Good Times

31-12-2021

Raphael Wressnig is not your ordinary B-3 organ player. He confidently brings out the inherent pyrotechnic power and mightiness of the large B-3 console and he is proud of his central role in performing what he calls "organ-heavy soul & funk". The majestic instrument, the Hammond organ, replaces the singer and plays the leads while its bass register locks in with the drums and carries the band. Wressnig concocts exciting mixed-genre music from his fervid imagination. His fluency in soul, funk, jazz and blues has garnered him the attention of an international claque of critics and multiple nominations, over the past decade, for both the DownBeat Critics and Readers Polls as "Best Organ Player of the Year". Raphael plays a dynamic brand of B-3, his passion commensurate with his technique and his creative intelligence. He's a high-voltage dynamo but also a musician of surprising delicacy and self-reflection. Call him one of the finest soul/jazz/blues B-3 operators anywhere. At the age of eleven, the Brazilian Igor Prado from São Caetano do Sul, São Paulo, Brazil, becomes interested in the guitar and in the blues. As a left-hander, he learns to play an inverted, right-handed guitar through self-study. Prado has focused on traditional blues and West Coast Swing, which mixes blues with swing and jazz from the 1940s and 1950s. The Styrian Hammond organist Raphael Wressnig and the Brazilian guitarist Igor Prado, two internationally recognized experts in their field, show on their album "Groove & Good Times" in a rousing way that funk and blues are still today can still form an explosive mixture. Raphael Wressnig (Hammond B-3 organ & Hohner D-6 Klavinet), Igor Prado (guitar) and his brother Yuri (drums, percussion) present with "Groove & Good Times" an album on which groove in the truest sense of the word its most casual form is celebrated. Even the introductory beat of the album, with its insanely smooth manner, indicates the direction of the musical performance of the three gentlemen. What then follows is a musical rollercoaster ride carried by an irrepressible joy in playing, which leads through the world of blues, funk, jazz and soul. The Austrian-Brazilian trio drew audible inspiration for this album from the sound of the 1970s, one that was practiced by icons such as James Brown, Bob Marley and John Watson. The trick that the three musicians do excellently is that they don't sound old-fashioned in what they do, they wrap the sound of the past few days in a modern guise and show how lively blues and funk can still sound today. Raphael Wressnig's unique Hammond organ sound, Igor Prado's virtuoso and song-compliant guitar playing and Yuri Prado's beats inviting you to dance combine in a powerful and light-footed, playful way into a pulsating whole that the listener cannot escape. You just have to join in with these rhythms and melodies, you have to celebrate to this sound, which awakens the good mood from the very first note, there is no other choice. Old School meets New School ! Their symbiosis makes you enjoy a perfect composition of authentic blues feeling with a good take on contemporary funkiness ! Prado and Wressnig combine soul, blues and funk rhythms, thus provoking the production of happy hormones in the listener's brain. Thanks to his virtuoso playing on the Hammond B-3, Raphael Wressnig has become the epitome of a modern Hammond organist. Already five times this unique musician has been nominated for "Best Organ Player of the Year" in the Critics Poll of "DownBeat", a magazine being considered as kind of Holy Scripture in matters of Jazz. In cooperation with the Brazilian blues guitarist Igor Prado he has now produced the album "Groove & Good Times". The world may be in state of unrest but don't tell that to Austria-based organ master Raphael Wressnig. Together with Brazilian guitarist Igor Prado, the duo have released one of the coolest-sounding feelgood albums of 2021. The CD release of "Groove & Good Times" spotlights Raphael and Igor, joined by the solid drumming of Igor's brother Yuri Prado, laying down nine way-cool instrumentals with a vocal track featuring vocals by Igor and Jenni Rocha, blending a mix of funky instrumental R&B, jazz and soul blues that will bring your mood way up. The magical sounding Hammond organ as the centerpiece in soul and funk music is legendary. Booker T & The MGs and The Meters did wonders for the instrumental R&B genre back in the mid to late 1960s and '70s. Carrying forth that soulful, funky Hammond sound into the early-mid 2020s, Raphael Wressnig and Igor Prado have crafted something of a modern-day classic of the genre. Groove & Good Times is totally original sounding in its own right, while another interesting aspect is that the 10-track, 44 minute album features a fun selection of covers from the pens of The Isley Brothers, Jr. Wells & Buddy Guy, Bill Withers, James Brown, Bob Marley, The Meters and more, topped off by a Wressnig original entitled "Shrimp Daddy". In a side note to 2021's "Groove & Good Times", Raphael's organ-heavy, funky soul jams extends to other genres of contemporary instrumental music and to that you can include his fresh spin on holiday music. In time to celebrate Christmas 2021, Raphael joined forces with NYC-based electric guitarist Alex Schultz for a 3-track CD EP called "Bayou Christkind : A Soulful Christmas With A Funky Twist". Putting a new spin on Christmas music, this EP includes funky instrumental versions of "Little Drummer Boy", "Silent Night" and the ever-popular "Winter Wonderland". With Raphael's swampy-sounding Hammond organ paired with guitarist Alex Schultz, "Bayou Christkind" is a fun-filled pairing of Southern funk and groove holiday music. Echoing the upbeat, groove-based sounds of the great Hammond organ players years gone by, Raphael Wressnig has a number of albums in his catalog and, with its high likability factor, "Groove & Good Times" may very well be the album to bring him even more well-deserved global recognition and appreciation.

A1 Kissing My Love 5:00

A2 I Know Who You Been Socking It To 2:56

A3 No More Okey Doke 4:22

A4 Blues & Pants 4:26

A5 You Bring Love 3:43

B1 Snatch It Back And Hold It 3:23

B2 Ain't No Love (In The Heart Of The City) 4:59

B3 Shrimp Daddy 4:09

B4 Crossfire 3:53

B5 Soul Shakedown Party 6:31

Drums, Percussion - Yuri Prado

Guitar, Producer, Mixed By, Mastered By - Igor Prado