By Anthony Dean-Harris | Published June 2022
Cold As Weiss sounds familiar and new at the same time, hitting all the conventions of the organ-guitar-drums trio. There’s no reinventing the wheel here, because the music ain’t broke, and Lamarr ain’t tryin’ to fix it. This is soul music down to its bones.
Guitarist Jimmy James’ soloing on “Big TT’s Blues” gets at the core of the feeling, makes an excellent impression and doesn’t wear out its welcome. Daniel Weiss, the latest addition to the group (born 1988, not to be confused with the other Dan Weiss, the drummer born in 1977), keeps a perfect pocket and knows just when to add the right amount of flair. He’s a tactician, getting the job done. However, it’s Lamarr up front on organ who keeps this as crowd pleasing as possible.
It’s difficult to describe the perfect, lilting quality of this music — not flashy and outlandish, but certainly not so pleasant as to be forgettable. It’s a simple, stripped-down sound that sticks to the ribs because it does exactly what’s necessary to soothe the soul.
It shows in the directness of the approach, like in the Leon Ware and Arthur Ross tune “I Wanna Be Where You Are” — this is hearkening the Motown sound, the “feel good music” Lamarr says the group specializes in. They aren’t doing anything splashy to the song; they don’t have to. They have good enough sense to play a good song well with the elements they have. This is the prevailing idea to the rest of Cold As Weiss’ compositions and arrangements.
Cold As Weiss: Pull Your Pants Up; Don’t Worry ’Bout What I Do; I Wanna Be Where You Are; Big TT’s Blues; Get Da Steppin’; Uncertainty; Keep On Keepin’ On; Slip ’N’ Slide; This Is Who I Is. (39:57)
Personnel: Delvon Lamarr, organ; Jimmy James, guitar; Daniel Weiss, drums.
Ordering Info: delvonlamarrorgantrio.bandcamp.com
