
‘In Green We Dream’ is the intriguingly-titled debut album from the equally intriguingly-named PARLOR GREENS.(below) By now followers of the good groove and this web site will know that the band is a new age, old school soul-jazz-funk trio made up of music biz veterans – Tim Carman (GA-20) on drums, Jimmy James (True Loves, formerly Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio) on guitar, and Adam Scone (Scone Cash Players, The Sugarman 3) on organ.

We first heard of them in March via their single, ‘West Memphis’. We learned the threesome first came together about 12 months ago to enjoy a jam session in Colemine’s Portage Lounge Studio. That jam produced the blistering soul-jazz builder that was/is ‘West Memphis’. Since then we’ve enjoyed a series of singles and now the parent album is amongst us.
The LP is an 11 tracker – 10 original tunes and one cover, all recorded straight to tape via the old reliable Tascam 388 tape machine. So if you’re not familiar with the pre-release singles you may be starting to get the message. Yes the band’s music is soul-jazz as it was – organic, heavy, soulful and as funky as it comes.
The cover we mentioned above is a clever, bluesy, jazzy take on George Harrison’s ‘My Sweet Lord’. It’s redolent of Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff, Groove Holmes, Jack McDuff, Melvin Sparks and Dr. Lonnie Smith. Indeed Scone was mentored by the last two! The other 10 tracks mine the same soul-jazz groove – tempos may vary but the energy, passion and soulful feel is a constant. The music recalls the Golden Age of labels like Blue Note and Prestige.
The album’s good to go right now, and though we’ve tried, we have no info on the source of the band’s name, a name (obviously) reflected in the album’s title. The only clue we have is that one of the LP tracks is called ‘Irish Goodbye’. _No, it’s not a Celtic jig or reel; it’s a percussive romp – as fierce and as funky as the rest of the set. Maybe, just maybe, there’s an Irish connection. Who knows? Who cares? It’s the funky, soul-jazz grooves that count!
PARLOR GREENS: ‘In Green We Dream’ is out now via Colemine