Pete Mills, For The Record Review

Pete Mills’ For The Record keeps the tenor/B3 flame burning

By Ferell Aubre

If you want to know where the heartbeat of the Midwest tenor/B3 tradition is living right now, drop the needle on Pete Mills’s For The Record. This Toronto-born, Columbus-based saxophonist has long balanced a love for bebop’s language with the deep shuffle, groove, and bluesy spirit that makes a Hammond B3 quartet feel like home. Mills has walked this road before with his earlier Fresh Spin with Tony Monaco. This new release is a working band’s declaration, a love letter to a sound they’ve been perfecting on bandstands for nearly a decade.

The lineup is compact and classic with Mills on tenor, Jon Eshelman on Hammond B3, Tom Davis on guitar, and Zach Compston on drums. But what makes this session jump isn’t the instrumentation—it’s the history these four share. You can feel the hours of gigs and the hang. That chemistry means the grooves sit in the pocket and are relaxed, and the solos build on each other rather than fight for space. The Columbus lineage is real, Rusty Bryant and Hank Marr may be gone, but that spirit is alive in the way this quartet locks together.

Organist Jon Eshelman kicks things off with a shuffle called “For The Record.” The band develops a feel that could make Stanley Turrentine grin. Mills’ tenor voice is round and emotive as he finds the hip lines between the chord tones. Mills blows with the kind of muscular lyricism that defines his tenor voice. The B3 breakdown midway is greasy perfection, equal parts command and invitation to move.

Written by Mills, “The Kid” is a shape-shifter. It starts in Latin territory for the theme. During Mills’ solo, the band morphs into a four-on-the-floor swing. Each feel is outstanding, and the band interaction spot-on. , and then drops right back into the opening groove. Compston’s feel is the moving element as the band communicates. Davis’ guitar solo finds the band returning to the original Latin feel. He seamlessly unfolds a musical solo filled with soul jazz style.

“Bird Lives” is a Mills’s composition that honors Charlie Parker with lines spun over “Confirmation” changes. Beyond the craft, there’s a personal connection, as Kim Parker once blessed this tribute after hearing it live. The performance showcases the living link of the bebop chain in all four of the members parts. Mills’ flows, Davis actively connects, Eshelman combines, and Compston drives.

“Kenny, Ken” is an original by Davis that is his guitar love letter to Kenny Burrell. Its soul jazz style is earthy, as the title implies. The melody has that riff swagger, and Compston’s backbeat keeps the groove sticky. It’s the kind of setting that makes a Hammond B3 quartet feel so good. Davis’ solo builds on the language of Burrell with post-bop figures interlaced.

“Z is for Zadie” is Compston’s celebration of his niece. The swing feel is pure joy. He uses brushes, flicking light and color across the kit, while Mills and Davis carry a melody that sparkles with childlike joy. Compston’s drum solo is melodic and supported by Eshelman’s steady basslines.

“Jammy Git” lets the band flex their up-tempo swing muscles. Davis’s Edinburgh-inspired chart is full of angular twists and rhythmic expression. The quartet plays the main theme with swagger. They sound like a unit enjoying playing together and riding the waves of musical conversation.

“The Visitor” is a straight eight composition from Davis. The well-known progression features Mills turning in a warm and conversational solo.

“Step On It” is a piece from Mills. Born from a fast commute, this burner channels road energy into a straight-ahead blues blowout. It’s swingin’, high-octane, and shows the quartet can summon fire as easily as grease. A light waltz by Compston called “Baby Simon” closes the album with a fine soul jazz performance that comes from shuffles and bebop.

For The Record is making sure the Hammond B3 quartet keeps rolling with soul, swing, and heart. Pete Mills and his crew have a project where the tenor/B3 quartet speaks a unified language. For jazz fans, this record has the feel, interplay, and honoring of tradition. The band knows how to shuffle, how to switch grooves, and how to let four voices become one band. The nine tracks move your head, your feet, and even your heart, for all the right reasons.