The church services I regularly attend conclude with informal five-minute pipe organ recitals. I relish the post-worship sounds as less music-conscious congregants head for the exits. When they’re feeling inspired, the organists occasionally push the limits of their instruments.
Kit Downes takes the pipe organ at St. Luke in the Fields’ to even further extremes on Breaking the Shell. Much of the 2022 recording sounds as if the ghost of Johanne Sebastian Bach is informed by the most forward-thinking jazz and classical music of the new millennium.
Guitarist Bill Frisell and drummer Andrew Cyrille respond to Downes’ unconventional organ tones with their usual finesse. An album trailer provides valuable insights. The sole downside of Breaking the Shell is the realization that the post-service organ recitals I relish will now be slightly less enthralling.