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Will Bernard Trio: Outdoor Living

Self-released

Outdoor Living is the new record from veteran funk-jazz guitarist Will Bernard. Keeping with the format of his last record, as well as his outings with Stanton Moore and Robert Walter, this is a straight organ-trio record, rounded out by frequent collaborator Wil Blades on B-3 and Simon Lott on drums. The album has a distinct NOLA-esque vibe, imbued throughout with swampy grooves and second-line rhythms, while maintaining the modernity typical of Bernard’s recorded output. The compositions have a cinematic quality to them that suggest that they may soon start appearing on soundtracks, and every song has a distinct sonic character to it—within the context of relaxed, dirty funk. Unlike previous efforts, however, Bernard lacks an aggressive melodic counterpoint, which is a role occupied in the past by luminaries such as John Medeski and Charlie Hunter, and as a result, the album has a certain one-note quality to it. The funk is strong, and the playing is
extremely competent, but it isn’t as dynamically engaging as the TJ Kirk records (the band that both Bernard and Hunter rose to prominence in), or the recent Stanton Moore Trio releases.