Downbeat Magazine's
2003 & 2004 Critics Poll #1 Jazz Organist
and
nominee for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo
at the 46th Annual
Grammy Awards, Joey DeFrancesco, who is
credited with rekindling a love for the
Hammond B-3 organ, returns to UTD with his
own trio. Last year's concert sold out,
so be sure to act early for this evening
of hot jazz.
For the first time, the
Joey DeFrancesco Trio, including Paul
Bollenback on guitar and Byron
Landham on drums, will play at
UTD. The three artists have worked together
on numerous albums from 1991-2002. Paul
Bollenback has appeared on Good Morning
America, The Today Show, Entertainment Tonight,
and The Tonight Show. Jazz drummer
Mickey Roker insisted at the 2004 Vancouver
International Jazz Festival that Byron Landham
was “one of the best drummers in the
world right now.”
The global jazz community
has credited Joey DeFrancesco and his recordings
from the late 1980s and early 1990s as the
singular sensation for rekindling a love
for the Hammond B-3 organ. But the wonderkid-turned-legend
didn’t simply catch his break when
he performed with Miles Davis as a teenager;
the organist has patterned his career after
the trumpeter’s example of constantly
pushing the creative envelope and bringing
together new and disparate cohorts.
“I’m glad
that my records have made people excited
about the organ, and the best part of
all this has been playing with so many
great artists, being on the road and sharing
the love for what I do with audiences
who really get it,” he says. “I
love bringing people in and making them
happy. I think I’ve been able to
keep a level head about everything because
I’m always focused on the music
first, and on the many ideas I have for
every subsequent project. Sometimes, I’m
just amazed by all this, and there are
always great moments which remind me why
I enjoy it so much.” ~ Joey DeFrancesco
When DeFrancesco released
his Columbia debut, All Of Me,
at the tender age of 17, the Hammond Organ
Company hadn’t produced a new B-3
for 14 years. The synthesizer had effectively
taken over the music upon which Joey had
built his dreams and developed his passion.
But that release and Joey’s undeniable
style almost single-handedly rekindled the
listening public’s interest in the
classic ‘60s organ trio. “The
success of my early recordings seemed to
trigger a great response from those who
loved the music of Jimmy Smith and McDuff,
as well as from new jazz fans. Suddenly,
the organ was popular again,” he says.
“It has always been a soulful instrument,
and R&B and the funky blues sounded
so good on it. The combination of the two
was so appealing that the sound John Patton
and Jimmy McGriff created in the ‘60s
became the standard sound in modern jazz.
I was just playing the music I loved, finding
new ways to approach it, and never worried
about the hype. My success was a result
of being comfortable with what I was doing,
and excited to be doing it.”
It is more magical to
believe the myth that DeFrancesco’s
exposure in Miles Davis’ band—which
included extensive touring and appearances
on the famed Amandla and Live Around the
World recordings—led to his deal with
Columbia. In truth, A&R legend Dr. George
Butler had shown interest in the organist
long before. The Philly native was a true
prodigy, advancing so quickly on his own
that he was bored with formal studies. “Once
my father saw I was interested, he got involved,”
he says. “He approached it in such
a way that if he was pushin’, I didn’t
notice it because I loved the instrument
so much.”
DeFrancesco was landing
professional dates by age ten. At 16, he
was the first recipient of the Philadelphia
Jazz Society's McCoy Tyner Scholarship and
a finalist in the Thelonious Monk International
Jazz Piano Competition. Then came Davis,
the first of many legendary associations
on a resume that would someday include John
McLaughlin, Jimmy Bruno, Houston Person,
Kenny Garrett, and finally, on his second
Concord recording Incredible! (1999),
a pairing with Jimmy Smith. His four previous
discs on Concord also include Joey DeFrancesco’s
Goodfellas (a Mafia movie soundtrack
tribute from 1999), Singin’ &
Swingin’ (2001) and Ballads
and Blues (2002).
Website: http://www.joeydefrancesco.com
About the Hammond B-3 Organ: http://www.xb3.net/b3/overview.htm |
