Caesar Frazier

Caesar Frazier – Live At Jazzcup (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 01:04:34 minutes | 803 MB | Genre: Jazz Fusion, Jazz Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Stunt Records

“Old school” organ combo fronted by a totally unknown veteran to me. A big positive surprise. Raised in Florida, Frazier’s professional music career kicked off as organist in alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson’s group and made his recording debut under his own name in 1972. But his jazz career didn’t really take off, so Frazier became Marvin Gaye’s keyboard player, and then sang soul in California. His background is a bit hazy, but in 2018 he started releasing organ albums again. This was recorded live in Copenhagen in 2022 with two Danish musicians and heavy Swedish tenorist Jonas Kullhammar. If I were to try to place Frazier on the Hammond map, he would be somewhere between Freddie Roach and Don Patterson, with major influences from Jimmy Smith of course. At the same time, I have to give Frazier credit for creating something of his own, with a dull, dirty sound. I like the cracked tone of the organ. To that I add a delicate bass playing, which lives a life of its own but of course perfectly integrated into his sound.

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Caesar Frazier – Closer to the Truth (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 55:03 minutes | 596 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Savant

2019 release from the Hammond B-3 master. Caesar is an entertainer so unique, that one musical genre does not adequately describe his performance skills. One of the numerous highlights of his musical career include the time he spent traveling on mega concert tours as Marvin Gaye’s keyboard accompanist. While working with Marvin and having personal conversations regarding musical concepts, the lessons learned left their foot print on his understanding of effective performance. Caesar grew up hearing and being forever influenced by many of America’s greatest artist that covered most all of the popular music genres. “I heard the greatest country artist, blues artist, rock and roll artist, rhythm and blues artist. And, loved it all.”

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