 Photo by Andrea Canter
If you're into jazz organ I don't have to tell you, You already know. Joey DeFrancesco is the undisputed
king of the Hammond B3.
If you dig Joey, you're not alone and you're in pretty good company. He
wowed Jack McDuff as a child and Miles Davis dug him and took him on
the road when he was only 17 years old. Anytime you have the
opportunity to hear a virtuoso like this, you should take it. Joey has
the ears and the chops to make wonderful music and he does it.
From bebop to fusion to soul jazz, he does it all. Catch Joey's trio on
tour in the Midwest in March.
They will be hitting the Dakota in Minneapolis March 20th through the
22nd, Scarpino's in Fayetteville Arkansas on the 25th, the Blue Room in
Kansas City on the 27th, and the Jazz Showcase in Chicago from the 28th
through April second.
In April he heads back to Yoshi's in Oakland joined by George Coleman
before heading off to Europe.
One his latest recording "Organic Vibes" with jazz masters
vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson and tenor sax great George Coleman, Joey
transcends the traditional organ jazz trio concept with more
challenging arrangements and advanced harmonies. Also contributing
throughout are DeFrancesco's drummer Byron "Wookie" Landham along with
Jake Langley on guitar and tenor saxophonist Ron Blake.
Joey says the idea of a project with Hutcherson came from an early
encounter the two had in Pittsburgh. "About three years ago we played
together at the Craftsman's Guild," explains Joey. It was a special
band that was put together for that event. Of course, I've been
listening to him forever and have always loved his playing on all of
his records. I went see Bobby at the Jazz Showcase. After hearing his
set, I though to myself, 'man, I wanna make a record with this guy." I
actually asked him that night and he said, Sure, give me a call. I'm so
pleased that it happened. Bobby is one of the true innovators in this
music. ... I always loved the sound of organ and vibes together," says
DeFrancesco. "They're very similar but that combination hasn't really
been done a lot. Larry Young made a record with Bobby called Street of
Dreams, and I remember listening to that a lot when I was a kid."
 Photo by Don Berryman
Joey brings a portion of that team, his burning trio including his
trusted drummer Byron "Wookie" Landham along with Jake Langley cookin'
on guitar on this tour.
Byron "Wookie" Landham is
on swinging drummer. He has been playing with Joey since the 1980s and
has developed such a tight musical relationship that they almost
function as a single unit in performance. Many in the Twin Cities
remember the Hot Summer Jazz Festival of 2003 when Joey and Byron
played through an extremely severer thunderstorm, lightning was
flashing the wind was blowing everything around and Byron was swinging
so hard he was steaming. Those of us who didn't run for cover, rush to
stand near the stage while the water rose and the band kept burning.
Guitar whiz Jake Langley
from Canada is firmly ensconced in Joey's trio filling a spot once
occupied by guitar great Paul Bollenbeck.
A skillful player with roots deep in the blues the 30 year old,
Toronto-based musician was selected as Guitarist of the Year in the
2004 National Jazz Awards.
"Organ trio jazz is really my thing," Langley explains. "We're not
inventing anything new, but someone has to keep the tradition alive."
Langley spent a year touring with organist Merle Saunders, who used to
play with Jerry Garcia. and he spent another year in New York City
studying with jazz greats Jim Hall and Pat Martino. You can hear their
influence in Jake's polished, thoughtful guitar lines. Langley produces
echoes of Wes Montgomery and Kenny Burrell too.
 Photo by Don Berryman - Mar. 20th. Minneapolis, MN - Dakota - www.dakotacooks.com
- Mar. 21st. Minneapolis, MN
- Mar. 22nd. Minneapolis, MN
- Mar. 25nd. Fayetteville, AR - Scarpino's - 329 N. West Ave.
Fayetteville, AR (479)409-3772 t.
- Mar. 27th. Kansas City, MO - Blue Room -
www.americanjazzmuseum.com
- Mar. 28th. Chicago, IL - Jazz Showcase - www.jazzshowcase.com
- Mar. 29th. Chicago, IL
- Mar. 30th. Chicago, IL
- Mar. 31st. Chicago, IL
- Apr. 01st. Chicago, IL - Jazz Showcase - www.jazzshowcase.com
- Apr. 02nd. Chicago, IL
- Apr. 06th. Oakland, CA - Yoshi's - JD Trio w. George Coleman -
www.yoshis.com
- Apr. 07th. Oakland, CA
- Apr. 08th. Oakland, CA
- Apr. 09th. Oakland, CA
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Apr. 22nd. Greenville, NC - (ECU www.music.ecu.edu) Greenville
Convention Center - www.greenvilleconventioncenter.com
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Saturday, 22 November 2008
