The Three Deuces

Eddie Roberts has long been a purveyor of the mighty organ trio in the jazz, funk and soul circles he’s come up in and The Three Deuces is the first trio put together by Roberts to explore the unique power of the configuration. By 1994, Eddie was ready to strip down to the bare rhythmic essentials and he linked up with old band mates Bill White (drums) and Ian Roberts (Hammond organ) and The Three Deuces were born. Soon they were touring hard and regularly playing nights at their hometown joint, legendary club The Yardbird Suite.

The group’s debut album Keep On It (Live At The Yardbird Suite) is one of those hometown shows and Rare Sounds is pleased to release it for the first time on vinyl. The record finds the trio cruising through a lean set of hard-charging boogaloo funk at the club fit for a rambunctious night out.

Eddie would pivot towards deep funk and start The New Mastersounds later in the decade, eventually touring the world and advancing the ever-evolving and inter-connected strains of soul, jazz and funk live. But The Three Deuces were an early example of Eddie’s prowess in an organ trio, his musical potential and a rewarding look back at one of the earlier live examples of the worldwide Funk-Soul Revival getting the party started.