Article Contributed by Regime Music Group
Published on November 28, 2025
Acclaimed drummer Corey Fonville of Butcher Brown and in-demand organist Sam Fribush announce their brand new R&B organ trio Fonville x Fribush, which today makes its recording debut with the new single “I Couldn’t Love You More”, a lush instrumental take on Sade’s 90s classic. Featuring guitar legend Charlie Hunter (D’Angelo), the new offering explores a new wave of bluecollar jazz from a youthful, authentic organ trio lens. Listen HERE.
“I Couldn’t Love You More” is the first single off their forthcoming ‘Fonville x Fribush’ EP, a five-track mix of R&B covers and original music set to release on New Year’s Day, January 1, 2026. Fonville, Fribush and Hunter recorded the EP in just four hours at Spacembomb Studios in Fonville’s hometown of Richmond, VA. Collectively, Fonville’s head-bobbing rhythms, Fribush’s soulful organ, and Hunter’s slick guitar riffs cook up a new kind of R&B-jazz link up. It’s music for the people delivered from a fresh, authentic, and wildly palatable perspective.
Fonville shares of the new collaboration, “It’s been a dream of mine to play in the organ trio context, but I never had the opportunity to get those calls, so I decided to start one with my brother Sam Fribush from Greensboro, NC. Our good friend and mentor Charlie Hunter was the connector, he told us ‘You two please make some music together, the culture is starving for what you guys bring!’ So I called Sam up one day and proposed this R&B organ trio idea. All we needed was a few hours in the studio, and the rest is history.”
Fonville continues of the new single, “Sade’s ‘I Couldn’t Love You More’ is one of the flyest songs of all time. The vocals, sexy chords, groove, the mix, and all-around zen are an atmospheric masterpiece. We felt that presenting this song in the Organ Trio context would open up a different sonic journey without losing the essence of the original.”
There’s something special about the instrumental Atlantic Coast soundscapes that Fonville x Fribush create together. Fribush explains, “There’s an unspoken Virginia and North Carolina connection that this music aligns with. It has a camaraderie with the blue collar aesthetic that exists amongst our people in this area, and we are honored to tap into that community that is so engrained in us as musicians.”
In addition to “I Couldn’t Love You More”, the forthcoming EP’s five songs include two more R&B classics, “Feel Like Makin Love” by Roberta Flack and “Why Don’t You” by Cleo Sol. The trio will also present two original songs on ‘Fonville x Fribush’ – “Café Milano”, an instrumental soul bossa, and “Sparks”, which features up-and-coming artist and vocalist Ronnie Luxe.
Corey Fonville has climbed the ranks among the East Coast’s most sought-after drummers and producers for hip-hop, jazz and R&B in recent years. As a founding member of Butcher Brown, he’s performed on NPR’s Tiny Desk and toured the world, in addition to producing albums for artists like Ledesi, DJ Jazzy Jeff and more.
Sam Fribush is also one of the freshest young bandleaders and collaborators, known for his signature aesthetic and voice – a vintage 1957 C3 Hammond Organ. His namesake project, the Sam Fribush Organ Trio, released its debut LP ‘People Please’ in 2024, and earlier this year, Fribush also recorded an organ trio record with drummer Adam Deitch (Lettuce) and guitarist Ari Teitel (The Rumble) as “DTF”, releasing ‘Another Side of the Sound” in May 2025. “My intention is to take this music into the future,” Sam says. “I’m trying to expand the rules about what organ trios can do.”
While the duo’s mentor Charlie Hunter recorded guitar on the EP, their friend and Butcher Brown guitarist Morgan Burrs performs the new single “I Couldn’t Love You More” in a live video recorded at The Sunroom in Richmond – watch it HERE. Fans of the new music can expect a rotating cast of featured guitarists and special guests to appear in the forthcoming Fonville x Fribush catalogues – including Hunter, Burrs and Alan Good Parker. Parker will lend his chops to the forthcoming Fonville x Fribush debut LP, ‘What Time Is It’, set to release exclusively on vinyl in early 2026 via WarHen Records.
Fonville x Fribush performs live at Winter Jazzfest in New York, NY on Friday, January 9 at LPR. Stay locked for more new music, videos, tour dates and exclusive offerings from this outstanding collaboration coming soon!
