Tag: Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Reno-based soul outfit The Sextones — siblings Mark Sexton (vocals, guitar) and Christopher Sexton (piano), with Alexander Korostinsky (bass), and Daniel Weiss — are all childhood friends, and as a result their musical chemistry is effortless and forms the foundation of the band’s longevity and creative process. 

Over the years, the band’s members have also been able to channel their creativity into other acclaimed projects — Mark Sexton and Korostinsky collaborate together in the cinematic soul project Whatitdo Archive Group, which released their critically applauded full-length debut The Black Stone Affair through Italian purveyors of funk Record Kicks back in 2021. Weiss has played with soul jazz outfit Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio. These forays into other projects has not only allowed the members to flex their creative muscle individually but it has also strengthened their collective songwriting chops. 

The Reno-based soul quartet signed to Record Kicks, who will release their Kelly Finnigan-produced sophomore album Love Can’t Be Borrowed on September 29, 2023. The album reportedly is a new chapter in the band’s story and sees the band attempting to scale new heights and plumb deeper emotional depths. Drawing from their upbringing steeped in the classic soul sound, the band’s Mark Sexton and Alexander Korostinsky knew they wanted the album to highlight their old-school bonafides while leaving room for innovations. The pair and their bandmates found that balance during marathon recording sessions at Finnigan’s San Rafael, CA-based Transistor Sound Studio. 

So far I’ve managed to write about two of Love Can’t Be Borrowed‘s singles:

  • “Without You,” an uptempo, two-step inducing jam built around playful call-and-response vocals, twinkling keys, reverb-soaked funk guitar and a locked-in propulsive rhythm section paired with an incredibly catchy hook. While “Without You” sees the Reno-based soul outfit deftly balancing an old-school attention to craft, it’s a sweet, declaration of love, devotion and profound gratitude that’s simultaneously a contented sigh and an acknowledgement that love — much like anything else in our lives — takes hard work. 
  • “Beck & Call,” a slow-burning, classic Quiet Storm-inspired ballad built around a lush, glistening arrangement, Mark Sexton’s achingly tender falsetto paired with the band’s unerring, deliberate attention to old-school craftsmanship and musicianship. Much like its immediate predecessor, the song is a sweet and earnest declaration of love, devotion and vulnerability that you rarely hear these days. 

Love Can’t Be Borrowed‘s fourth and latest single, album title track, the mid-tempo “Love Can’t Be Borrowed,” is built around a Motown-era/Holland-Dozier-Holland attention to craftsmanship and musicianship paired with seemingly fueled by lived-in, personal experience. The song thematically speaks of the personal and moral expectations of a rocky, uncertain relationship, with the narrator being uncertain if he should say or if he should go.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: The Sextones Share Strutting and Soulful “Without You”

Reno-based soul outfit The Sextones — Mark Sexton (vocals, guitar), Christopher Sexton (piano), Alexander Korostinsky (bass), and Daniel Weiss are childhood friends, and as a result their musical chemistry is effortless and forms the foundation of the band’s longevity and creative process.

Over the years, the band’s members have also been able to channel their creativity into other acclaimed projects — Sexton and Korostinsky collaborate together in the cinematic soul project Whatitdo Archive Group, which released their critically applauded full-length debut The Black Stone Affair through Italian purveyors of funk Record Kicks back in 2021. Weiss has played with soul jazz outfit Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio. These forays into other projects has not only allowed the members to flex their creative muscle individually but it has also strengthened their collective songwriting chops.

The Reno-based soul quartet signed to Record Kicks, who will release their forthcoming Kelly Finnigan-produced sophomore album Love Can’t Be Borrowed on September 29, 2023. The album reportedly is a new chapter in the band’s story and sees the band attempting to scale new heights and plumb deeper emotional depths. Drawing from their upbringing steeped in the classic soul sound, the band’s Mark Sexton and Alexander Korostinsky knew they wanted the album to highlight their old-school bonafides while leaving room for innovations. The pair and their bandmates found that balance during marathon recording sessions at Finnigan’s San Rafael, CA-based Transistor Sound Studio.

“Without You,” the second single off Love Can’t Be Borrowed is an uptempo, two-step inducing jam built around playful call-and-response vocals, twinkling keys, glistening xylophone, reverb-soaked funk guitar, and a locked-in, propulsive rhythm section paired with an incredibly catchy hook. The song sees the band deftly balancing old school attention to craft with earnest, lived in lyricism. But, at it’s core, “Without You” is a sweet, old-timey declaration of love, devotion and profound gratitude that’s a both contented sigh and an acknowledgment that love — much like anything in life — takes hard work.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Delvon Lamarr Trio Releases a Strutting and Soulful Bit of Funk

Acclaimed Seattle-based soul jazz outfit Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio formed back in 2015 and currently features:

  • Delvon Lamarr, a self-taught virtuosic musician, with perfect pitch, who taught himself jazz — and can play several different instruments, besides organ
  • Jimmy James, a guitarist, whose style meshes acid rock freak outs with slinky jazz
  • Dan Weiss, the Reno, NV-born drummer, the band’s new full-time drummer, who’s best known for his work with the soul and funk collective The Sextones

Since their formation, the Seattle-based trio has released two albums of what the band dubs “feel good music” that includes 2018’s full-length debut, Close But No Cigar and last year’s critically and commercially successful sophomore effort I Told You So, which debuted on the top of multiple Billboard Charts: #1 on the Contemporary Jazz Album Chart, #3 on the Jazz Album Chart, #4 on the Tastemaker Album Chart, and #12 on the Heatseaker Album Chart.

I Told You So also received praise by Under the Radar, AllMusic, American Songwriter, Popmatters, KEXP, Live For Live Music, Jazziz, Jambase, Glide Magazine and NPR, who named it one of their favorite albums of the first half of last year.

Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio’s third album Cold As Weiss is slated for a February 11, 2022 release through Colemine Records. Cold As Weiss is the first recorded output with Weiss, the band’s newest member. And while finding the band at its tightest, the album reportedly finds the band continuing to push funky instrumental music to a new generation of fans.

“Don’t Worry ‘Bout What I Do,” Cold As Weiss‘ second and latest single derives its title from a quote by the band’s Jimmy James. “No matter what you say to this cat, ‘Yo bro, your butt crack is showing,’ he always says the same thing: ‘Man . . . don’t worry ’bout what i do,” the band’s Delvon Lamarr explains. “Don’t Worry ‘Bout What I Do” is an old-school pimp strut, centered around an expansive arrangement featuring Weiss’ quickly building up a tight, rhythmic swing, Lamarr’s sultry organ lines and James’ psych rock-like guitar lines. The end result is a composition that seems indebted to the likes of The Meters and Booker T and the MGs.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Seattle’s True Loves Stick it to The Man in Visual for “Sunday Afternoon”

True Loves is a rising Seattle-based instrumental soul outfit that can trace its origins to a jam session back in 2014 between three of the city’s best players — David McGraw (drums), Bryant Moore (bass) and Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio‘s Jimmy James (guitar). Since then, the band has expanded into a globalized unit with the addition of Iván Galvez (percussionist), Odesza‘s, Monophonics‘ and PolyrhythmicsJason Cressey (trombone), Mackelmore‘s Greg Kramer (trombone), Gordon Brown (sax) and the acclaimed Skerik (sax). The band has developed a reputation as a must-see live act locally — and they’ve amassed millions of streams on YouTube.

The act’s full-length debut, 2017’s Famous Last Words received praise locally and as a result, the act landed sets at a number of regional festivals including Sasquatch, Doe Bay and Upstream. The members of the Seattle-based act followed the release of their full-length debut, with a handful of singles including 2018’s “Dapper Derp”/”Kabuki” 45RPM single and 2019’s “Famous Last Words”/”Mary Pop Poppins” 45RPM single.

The Seattle-based group’s sophomore full-length effort Sunday Afternoon is slated for release next Friday through Color Red, and the album sonically and thematically is a sort of soundtrack for the Sunday afternoon block party that has brought the entire neighborhood out. Last month, I wrote about the Greg Kramer and Bryant Moore co-written single “Yard Byrds,” a slow-burning, G funk-like pimp strut crafted around the use of just four chords. It’s the sort of song that will have you picturing yourself strutting and flossing down the street. Of course, building up buzz for the album, album single and title track “Sunday Afternoon” is a cinematic and strutting funky jam centered around an expansive composition that simultaneously nods at Ennio Morricone soundtracks and The Payback-era James Brown psych funk/psych soul.

Produced by Wild Gravity and filmed at Seattle’s Rainier Valley Cultural Arts Center, the recently released video for “Sunday Afternoon” is one-part A-Team, one-part Oceans 11, one-part Snatch-like visual that depicts the band plotting an ingenious heist to retrieve their master tapes, which were stolen by greedy, corporate music executive types. Of course, there’s a cork board with the plan marked down in detail — with each member of the band, playing their specific roles: the wheelman, the inside man, the muscle, the mastermind and so on.

With each member of the band donned in slick black suits, they successfully break into the corporate label’s compound to take back their masters and the label’s years of stolen earnings from hardworking artists. The video ends with the band proudly sticking it to the man while giving back to local venues and independent artists.
“We wanted to recognize what a difficult time this has been for musicians, venues, and their staffs while corporate greed continues and how artists are taken advantage of by those at the top who continue to prosper while others suffer—a modern Robinhood tale told through a heist video,” the band’s Bryant Moore explains.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

True Loves is a rising Seattle-based instrumental soul outfit that can trace its origins to a jam session back in 2014 between three of the city’s best players — David McGraw (drums), Bryant Moore (bass) and Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio‘s Jimmy James (guitar). Since then, the band has expanded into a globalized unit with the addition of Iván Galvez (percussionist), Odesza‘s, Monophonics‘ and Polyrhythmics Jason Cressey (trombone), Mackelmore‘s Greg Kramer (trombone), Gordon Brown (sax) and the acclaimed Skerik (sax). The band has developed a reputation as a must-see live act locally — and they’ve amassed millions of streams on YouTube.

The act’s full-length debut, 2017’s Famous Last Words received praise locally and as a result, the act landed sets at a number of regional festivals including Sasquatch, Doe Bay and Upstream. The members of the Seattle-based act followed the release of their full-length debut, with a handful of singles including 2018’s “Dapper Derp”/”Kabuki” 45RPM single and 2019’s “Famous Last Words”/”Mary Pop Poppins” 45RPM single.

The Seattle-based group’s highly-anticipated sophomore album Sunday Afternoon is a sort of soundtrack for a Sunday afternoon block party that brings the entire neighborhood out. Co-written by Greg Kramer and Bryant Moore with the intention of writing classic using just four chords, Sunday Afternoon‘s fourth and latest single “Yard Byrds” is a slow-burning G funk-like pimp strut, centered around a regal horn melody, a sinuous bass line, shimmering guitars, fluttering flute and a steady yet propulsive beat. Every time I’ve played this song, I’ve closed my eyes and pictured myself strutting and flossing down the street, as you head to the block party or the swap meet.