Saxophonist Ellery Eskelin's trio with Gary Versace on organ and Gerry Hemingway on drums are heard live at the Jazz Festival in Willisau, Switzerland on August 28th, 2015. This is one demented jazz organ trio! "On (Or About)" runs the gamut of moods and styles, not surprising at over 50 mins. The group start off with a churning improvisation over rumbling bass pedals and eventually arrive in sinister spaces. Later some soul jazz grease emerges, trading off with hard bop, freedom, and who knows what else. Strangely the drums never quite join the fun when a groove emerges, avoiding a detour into stylistic tourism I suppose. Later, drummer Gerri Hemingway floats in and out of non-swing, playing broken time fragments over bass pedal and loping sax on "We See". Once it starts cooking a bit Eskelin's right hand gets active with stirring melodic counterpart. It stays the course throughout, at one point Hemingway changing the time to more rigid triplet based beat.

This trio's reading of "I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance With You" is a lush affair, befitting the song's legacy. It broods with swelling organ and tinkling, swishing cymbals and brushes while the saxophone beautifully states the melody. The organ is fluid and searching. The drums are magnificent, especially at this subdued volume, they resonate and fill the space of the venue wonderfully.