Drummer Florian Arbenz lines up a September organ trio tour across Europe

Swiss drummer Florian Arbenz is launching a European tour in September with a new organ trio featuring US saxophonist Chris Cheek and Dutch Hammond organist Arno Krijger, opening September 15 at PizzaExpress Live in Soho and running through England, Scotland, Belgium, Ireland, Austria and the Netherlands before closing September 27.

The saxophone-Hammond-drums format has deep jazz roots, dating to 1960s soul-jazz records like Jimmy Smith's Back at the Chicken Shack and Don Patterson's The Hipster, and more recently the Joey DeFrancesco Trio and James Carter Organ Trio. Arbenz, who started as a classical percussionist working with conductors including Christoph von Dohnanyi, calls himself a melodic drummer in the tradition of Max Roach and Peter Erskine.

Arbenz also co-founded the piano trio VEIN with his twin brother, pianist Michael Arbenz, and bassist Thomas Lahns, and leads a Conversation series of 12 albums with 12 different lineups; Krijger first recorded with Arbenz on 2023's Targeted, part of that series. His latest solo album, Quiet Lights, features Greg Osby and Bill Frisell.

"Going on stage with Arno and Chris is always a pure joy for me," Arbenz said. "Chris Cheek's playing is so meaningful and deep. He's a true storyteller on his instrument," he added, saying Krijger "has mastered this beast of a Hammond B3," which he calls "more like an animal or like a force of nature."

The tour joins the fall's new jazz dates on the tour guide.