A unique affair…

Artie Zaitz is swiftly establishing himself as one of the jazz scene’s most exciting guitarists. When he’s not touring with Moses Boyd or performing and recording with The Banger Factory or leading his own groovy outfit, he can be found pulling out all the stops on his 1961 Hammond C-3 named Big Bertha and executing complex lines on bass pedals, just like organ giants before him; Jimmy Smith, Brother Jack McDuff and Larry Goldings.

Mark Kavuma is renowned for his fabulously expressive trumpet playing. Mark leads The Banger Factory, one of the finest and most thrilling live acts on the scene and is no stranger to high profile gigs with some of the best in jazz music including Nu Civilisation Orchestra, Jazz Jamaica All Stars, Salif Keita and Wynton Marsalis.

Back To Back may represent the first studio recording of an extraordinary combination of instruments underpinned by William Cleasby’s dexterity and mastery of groove.

The unique collaboration has been bubbling for many years, fully bursting into life during the pandemic when due to restrictions Kavuma and Zaitz found themselves practicing literally back to back. This extremely rare configuration (1961 Hammond C-3 Organ against 1971 Wurlitzer 200A Electric Piano, or a Stairway Grand Piano with support from William Cleasby’s drums) delivers sonic delights and a ‘bomb’ within the traditions of century-old jazz music.

Stand-out moments on the album are; the monumental ‘Lockdown Blues’ penned by Zaitz, a spellbinding, absorbing and ultimately sincere commentary on the current global state of affairs, Kavuma’s own reflection of the personal struggle to cope with separation in ‘Mia’s Waltz, and the spectacular interpretation of Thelonious Monk’s ‘Round Midnight’ the kind of reading that makes you wonder whether you ever knew this tune at all.