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"I've only been rejected from one job so far because I'm female," confesses award winning jazz saxophonist and
organist Ruth Hammond.
"The band were on the road a lot and I think they could see problems about
the clothes changing facilities."
I'll wager that none of those shy guys have ever earned themselves
a week's residency at the legendary Ronnie Scott's club in London (a runner's up prize for Ruth in the Young Jazz Musician
Of The Year 1998 competition), or trained with some of the country's top musicians in what sounds like the dreamiest of dream
college degree courses - a BA in Jazz Studies.
At just 23, Ruth, from Swindon, has achieved all this,
and no doubt there's much more to come, so she's not so bitter at her one and only rejection. As possibly Britian's only female
jazz organ player, she's already too professional for that sort of nonsense. And it's this which is earning her plaudits on
Bristol's eclectic jazz circuit.
Ruth, together with ace drummer husband Scott Hammond and guitarist James
Forster, go out as The Forster-Hammond Trio.
The band insist they are 100 per cent equal partners, "Hammond"
referring both to Ruth and Scott's surname and to the style of music they play, named after that musical epitome of sixties
cool jazz - the mighty Hammond organ.
At a combined age of 76, the trio (23,26 and 27) are just a year
older than Jimmy Smith, the high priest of the Hammond sound, whose distinctive recordings for the Blue Note and Verve labels
in the Fifties and Sixties set the benchmark for every subsequent jazz organist.
But Smith's keyboard
histrionics are not Ruth's main influence. She prefers American organist Larry Goldings, who plays a far more subtle Hammond,
and she also cites her former Leeds College of Music tutor, pianist Nikki Iles, as a mentor.
Although
the trio have been playing only six months, Scott and James, both from Bristol, met musically as teenagers. James was even
then deeply into the blues and Scott was just discovering jazz. When Scott met Ruth at college - and wooed her by inviting
her to join his funk band - the trio was complete.
Picking the distinctive style they play wasn't difficult.
All were fans of the breezy mid-Sixties sound - think of the music for the Renault car adverts and you've got it - but they
were equally aware that they didn't want to come across as a completely retro outfit.
"A lot of the
stuff we do comes from that period," explains James, "but we also include quite a few modern influences. We're not
trying to copy the organ trios of the sixties, although there's a particular vibe to the style which we're all into."
That vibe attracts a variety of people to their gigs, from the purists to a generation of newer fans who
appreciate young musicians who don't need to crank up the amps and beat their drums to a bloody pulp to foster "attitude".
In fact, the subtle energy and sense of musical intuition between the three is probably their greatest strength,
particularly when a jazz audience will generally listen in unnerving silence, heads nodding, with just the occasional flurry
of hand-clapping for a particularly well executed solo.
Performing, the band will generally kick off with
the tune proper, then move into individual solo passages. Although they rehearse, this part is always improvised, with the
result that although musical themes can remain similar, they rarely play the same thing twice. At best it sounds effortless
and the trio are keen to make sure that one sound doesn't dominate.
"We don't have musical competitions
between us," insists Scott. "James has taught Ruth and me a lot about the blues, while we've passed on what we know
about jazz to him. Rivalry of any sort would just breed unmusicality."
The trio would like to remain
as that, although they may be open to the idea of musicians joining in for one-off performances. Meanwhile, they're getting
ready for a variety of gigs throughout the summer, including the prestigious Birmingham Jazz Festival. They aim to break into
London's jazz scene and Scott and Ruth, who now live in the capital, are already making useful contacts from other musical
projects.
"Female jazz instrumentalists are few and far between," says Ruth, "and it's
definitely a male dominated world. That doesn't mean to say, though, that it's a 'man's music'. There are enough women instrumentalists
around to make what they do very highly regarded."
The KlubKat Article - August 2000
Our interest was piqued recently by a Hammond Organ Trio, a group of talented young musicians based in London who excel at
a sound not exactly well known in modern popular music - the Hammond organ!
The trio consists of organist Ruth Hammond
and her husband Scott on drums (We are assured that the name is entirely coincidental), plus James Forster on guitar. Together,
they play on a national basis and have built up quite a following, and they fill in the rest of their time gigging separately:
James, for example, also fronts his own blues band "Morganfield" around the Bristol area where he plays everything
from Rhythm and Blues to Jazz and Funk.
The bands biography describes their music as "scorching Hammond
Organ grooves from the 60's and 70's". This, of course, is an entirely different style of music to the modern norm, which
is why we think it is worth mentioning here. Believe me, there is a place for every style in the music world, and this talented
trio seem to have found their niche and become popular in their own area.
The band have certainly been around
the circuit. Scott has played with New York alto saxophonist Herb Geller as well as London's Dave O'Higgins, Bobby Wellins
and Alan Barnes - and just to show that he can play right across the spectrum of musical styles, he has also gigged with Limahl
from Kajagoogoo.
Ruth and Scott both studied at Leeds college of music, gaining a B.A. in jazz studies. Ruth
played for a week at Ronnie Scott's Jazz club in London, and achieved status of runner-up in the "Young Jazz Musician
of the Year" contest in 1988. In recent years, Ruth has also been a member of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO)
and appeared a number of times on television.
KlubKat caught up with the trio recently and put some of our
own questions to them:
KK: How would you describe your music style? It obviously isn't what most people nowadays
would describe as mainstream, so what brings audiences to your concerts?
SH: If we had to pin down the style of music
we play, I guess it would be a mixture of jazz and funk with elements of other styles creeping in. James (guitar) has a lot
of blues in his playing which adds yet another flavour. There is something about the Hammond organ sound that has a 'feel
good' vibe to it that people can easily relate to. Also, the versatility of the instrument enables us to cover a lot of different
styles and grooves, even though there's just three of us. For example, the bass sound on the organ really cuts through for
jazz tunes and even for more 'in your face' funk tunes. Also, there are infinite possibilities with drawbar settings that
give us a lot of different sounds. In short, there's something in our music for almost everyone!
KK: How long have
you been playing together and how did you all initially meet?
SH: We've been together for almost two years but our
musical history goes back a bit further. I (Scott) met Ruth on a jazz course and played in various bands with her on sax,
piano and organ... and of course... I married her! I met James in Bristol (our home town) when we were teenagers but we didn't
play together much until the trio started. Ruth met James through me.
KK: Ruth, how does playing with the trio
compare to previous work with NYJO? I've seen NYJO play on several occasions and have always been very impressed, but I certainly
don't recall them dragging too many Hammond organs around with them...! What have you done on TV?
RH: I played tenor
saxophone in NYJO although they did ask me to record on organ with them but I felt it was time to leave because of other musical
commitments. I really enjoyed being part of such a big sound but you don't get a lot of freedom. There's a lot more room for
interplay between the musicians in an organ trio setting which I love. I also like playing the bass lines, comping and soloing
- it's a real challenge but it's worth it because you have a lot of control - and there's such a full sound with the organ.
The most recent TV work I have done has been with "Morcheeba" but they also televised The Young Jazz Musician of
the Year in 1998 (I came runner up). This was a great experience although I'm not overly comfortable with the idea of musicians
competing.
KK: How often do you play?
SH: Generally we do one or two gigs a week plus as many rehearsals as
we can fit in. We all play for a living and are involved in other projects but we are probably most satisfied when we've got
a gig with this band.
KK: Are there any moments you would like to share with our readers? Moments that have made you
particularly proud, funny stories, that sort of thing.
SH: No funny stories as yet - apart from drunk people trying
to have a conversation with Ruth or James in the middle of their solos - but that's something all musicians have to put up
with once in a blue moon!
KK: What are your plans for the future?
SH: Well, we're all writing tunes for the
trio - I think we have about eight originals so far - and we plan to record them all and make an album. We'll then sell it
as much as possible and tour around the country. It may be about a year before this happens but it's definitely on the cards.
Before that, we just want to gig as much as possible - ideally in venues that are geared towards a listening audience (jazz
clubs, jazz festivals etc etc). We also like to do pure funk gigs in clubs so people can 'get down'.
KK: Anything else
you would like to add?
SH: One of our big influences as musicians and composers would be the New York based band: The
Larry Goldings Trio - with Larry Goldings on organ, Bill Stewart on drums and Peter Bernstein on guitar. We prefer this kind
of style to the more common Jimmy Smith style - but then we do love playing Jimmy Smith's "The Cat" and "Back
at the Chicken Shack".
KK: Well, thanks for the interview. You are obviously already doing well - we wish you
all the best of luck for the future.
THE BATH CHRONICLE - 27th September 2000
By Charley Dunlap
"The harmonious marriage of three great
minds"
The Forster-Hammond Trio makes a welcome return to The Bell, Walcot St, this week. They play a brand of jazz that may not
be ground-breakingly avant, but grooves like mad and has an elegance to it that's not always found in the ubiquitous funky
Hammond organ-guitar trios.
By curious coincidence, two thirds of this trio are surnamed Hammond: Scott
and Ruth, a marriage of drummer Scott and saxophonist/organist Ruth. The remainder of the trio is James Forster, the guitarist,
who can also be seen around this and other towns in blues band Morganfield.
The groove of this band
comes just about single-handedly (well, that'd be two hands and two feet, actually) from Scott Hammond, a drummer I rate very
highly. Scott is not a loud drummer (generally, a good thing, that), but he swings with such precise force that nothing else
matters. I could listen all night to him by himself.
James Forster is in that nice space of blues-inflected
jazz, a space occupied by such as Kenny Burrell and Grant Green from older times, John Scofield and Jeff Beck from more recent
years. James has cited Green as a favorite, but to me it's closer to Scofield. That ain't bad, besides, he can't help it -
he wasn't even around in the Green years.
Ruth Hammond's organ provides the sea that these other two
swim in. It's a calm sea, no raging storms, and is the source of the elegance I mentioned.
I reviewed
this band a year or so ago and thought then that they had a 'dreamy' sound, a sort of Cocteau Twins meets Jimmy Smith thing.
Probably overstating the case a bit, but the feeling's there and it's nice.
Of course, one can't seem
to write about Ruth and Forster Hammond without pointing out that Ruth was a finalist for the Young Jazz Musician of the Year
award a couple of years back - as a saxophonist. Always a good springboard for becoming a keyboardist.
Ruth doesn't play sax in Forster Hammond, though all she'd need to do would be to get a sampler and... nah, forget I said
that. They're just fine the way they are, the way they'll be at The Bell Monday.
EVENING POST - 8th March 2001
"Reviews: The Forster-Hammond Trio - The Prom Bar, Gloucester Road"
If any sound could define sixties modern jazz it would, arguably, be the distinctive wail of the Hammond B3 organ.
The trio - also including Ruth's husband Scott on drums and James Forster on guitar - have successfully tapped
into the spirit of that era, but in the two or so years they've been together, have stretched material beyond the obvious,
bringing in a funkiness sometimes lacking in those mid-sixties Hammond pioneers.
At the Prom bar on
Monday night - to a small but tuned-in crowd - the trio explored sounds from John Scofield, an ex-Miles Davis guitarist, as
well as a smattering of their own compositions.
The trio built on a low-key, supper-club style start
to the evening with layer upon layer of solid grooves. Their musicianship is impeccable; it would hardly be fair to single
out any one of the three for special mention but I think extra plaudits must go to Scott Hammond for his solid yet stylish
kit work, which never ventures into the realms of showy.
Jimmy Smith's sinewy The Cat
rounded off the evening, which came all to soon for me.
Nevertheless, the Trio can be seen
again at The Bear pub's Be-Bop Club in Hotwells Road later this month. You're advised not to miss it.
**** (out
of 5)
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