The Big Blast, the debut album by Kombo, is a rare but welcome musical happening: a “family” affair written, rehearsed, and recorded by two close friends. Propelled by Ron Pedley’s Hammond B3 organ along with vintage keyboards such as the Rhodes and Wurlitzer pianos, and Jon Pondel’s distinctive jazz-tinged guitar playing, The Big Blast recalls the solid rhythm and blues of the past while incorporating a more contemporary jazz feel.

The story behind Kombo is that of musicians recognizing and returning to the creative pulls that bring out the best in them. Pedley and Pondel were partners in the celebrated act Uncle Festive, who recorded six albums in the late eighties and early nineties, the last two of these (The Paper And The Dog and Drive Down The Sun) for Mesa/Blue Moon. Along the way, they scored several radio hits, including “Little Bear” and “Dot to Dot.” After the band broke up, Pondel moved from Los Angeles, where he had lived all his life, to embrace the musical challenges of New York. He became a founding member and producer of the acclaimed acid jazz act The Jazzhole, who released two albums (The Jazzhole and The Feeling Goes Round) on Atlantic. Meanwhile, former Uncle Festive drummer Bud Harner moved into an A&R position at Verve Records and suggested Pedley and Pondel renew their musical relationship. Demos recorded by the duo quickly led to a record deal. Brothers Gregg (drums) and Matt (electric and acoustic bass) Bissonette, who had been friends with Pedley since attending college with him, were recruited as rhythm section for the album, and Harner agreed to produce the project himself.

Pondel joined Pedley in Los Angeles to complete the writing and recording process. “We had a general set of parameters,” explains Pedley, “such as the use of the Hammond B3 organ for the melodies, something we thought would be unique in the contemporary jazz format.”

For the two week recording process, Pondel, Pedley, and friends descended on Los Angeles’ Village Recorders. After two sessions a day for three days, and a few more days of mixing, The Big Blast was complete. “There was very little overdubbing,” says Pedley. “The B3 and guitar solos were all done live, just the four of us playing at the same time—like you’re supposed to play it.” While many musicians would be terrified by the prospect of recording so quickly, for Pedley, Pondel, and producer Harner it felt like something of a luxury (as well as a return to roots) after the early days of Uncle Festive, whose first two albums had been recorded straight to two track, without the benefit of mixing or overdubs.

The instrumental structure of The Big Blast (Pedley shunned synthesizers, renting classic keyboards like the Farfisa organ and Hohner clavinet rather than imitating them digitally) ensures that the album can be viewed as a single piece of work—a modern jazz adaptation of a classic musical format—but also as one with many and varied components. Each track, from the sweeping ambiance of the openers “Talk The Talk” and “Sure Thing” to the hard-hitting drum loops employed on “Sassy,” displays Kombo’s unique approach to creating music.

“A lot of it is coming from the sixties thing,” says Pondel, “but then it goes off in different ways. The songs ‘Pulp’ and ‘Ladies Man,’ for example, they’re retro but they’re hip hop and they’ve got surf and funk guitar sounds.” He continues, “And the harmonies are a little more advanced than R&B harmonies would be.” Says Pedley, “Like jazz altered chords.”

Finishing each other’s sentences comes naturally in a friendship dating back so many years. In fact, the duo form something of a mutual appreciation society. “What Jon brings to Kombo,” says Pedley, “is that whole acid jazz thing. Jon lives in New York and has experienced a whole different lifestyle.”

“Ron is one of the greatest musicians I’ve ever worked with,” enthuses Jon in return. “He’s an incredible player and very adventurous, he’s always willing to try something in the writing that can inspire us to come up with a different kind of melody.” Indeed, for Kombo’s live appearances, expect to see a trio rather than a quartet, with Pedley not just taking the keyboard leads but playing the bass parts on the organ foot pedal too.

Pondel and Pedley are contagiously enthusiastic about the prospects for Kombo. As Pondel says, “I haven’t heard any albums quite like this, that are in the vein of acid jazz and R&B but can also fit into the contemporary jazz thing.” With its refreshing blend of the familiar and the innovative, the straightforward and the experimental, The Big Blast is an album that should find eager listeners among fans of all genres.

The Big Blast will be released on CD October 12, 1999.

[This was the original 1999 press release for The Big Blast by Kombo]