I first heard Joey DeFrancesco's organ playing in 1992. Upon listening to the "Reboppin'" CD, I thought, "Wow. This is someone my age who plays the Hammond organ with the confidence of a much older musician." Frequently, his organ playing reminded me of jazz organ giant Jimmy Smith. As you might have gleaned from the playlists I've posted, I played a good helping of his music on KCOU and WEW. Sadly, DeFrancesco passed away Thursday. In his honor, here are four of my favorite tracks of his:
- Fly Me To The Moon (Smooth organ pyrotechnics and a cool walking bass line make this a strong cover version.)
- How Little We Know (Instrumentally and vocally, DeFrancesco conjured up bygone eras deftly. Vocally, his approach here reminds me somewhat of John Pizzarelli.)
- Moanin' (Prior to hearing DeFrancesco's version, I was most familiar with the Lambert, Hendricks & Ross rendition. I've always thought that if you're going to write lyrics or sing about being a put upon sad sack, this is the way to do it. As expected, DeFrancesco transferred the melody to the organ effortlessly.)
- Sister Sadie (This cover of a Horace Silver tune was the first song I ever heard by DeFrancesco. His handling of a swingin' melody that demands attention made quite an impression on me, so I played it on KCOU's "Jazz Odyssey" multiple times.)
