Fonville x Fribush

blues

Fonville x Fribush is a jazz, funk and rhythm and blues organ project pairing drummer Corey Fonville, of the Richmond, Virginia band Butcher Brown, with Hammond organist Sam Fribush. The two were introduced by guitarist Charlie Hunter, who thought their playing would fit together, and they built the project around a working organ-trio format in which the third chair changes from release to release. They cut roughly 30 tracks over two days at Minimum Wage Recording in Richmond with engineer Lance Koehler, playing live with no splicing and one pass per song; Fribush's 1962 Hammond B3 was large enough that the studio door had to be removed to get it inside. Those sessions produced two releases on WarHen Records: the debut EP R&B Organ Trio, issued in January 2026 with Charlie Hunter on guitar, and the full-length What Day Is It, released February 27, 2026 with Alan Good Parker on guitar and pedal steel. What Day Is It runs ten tracks, among them Blue Chips, Dinner Bell, Sweet Tea and a two-part title piece, and was mastered by Rob Dobson at Hear Garden in Los Angeles; musician Phil Cook wrote its liner notes. The players describe their sound as blue collar jazz, citing traditional organ men such as Jimmy McGriff, the harmonic language of Ronnie Foster, and the rhythmic sensibility of hip-hop producers including The Alchemist and Madlib. Parker's lap and pedal steel adds a texture uncommon in organ-trio settings. Live, the group works as a trio with a rotating guitar chair, playing jazz rooms and rock clubs, and its sets stay close to the loose, first-take feel of the studio dates.

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