This has got to be my favorite Joey D. performance. He's playing James Ingram's 100 Ways. Watch him start to warm up just after 3 minutes then watch him cook at at about the 5 minute mark. Talk about talent and abiity! Some of the best part is this trio looks like they are having the time of their lives! ( and they probably are!)

Steve, you and I are definitely on the same wave length. I not only have this on my mp3 devices but also bookmarked on all my computers (I love the visuals too ). Also, my guitarist, Bob Szmik, knows and is a friend of Dan Wilson (the guitarist on the track). Joey D. is absolutely my favorite jazz organist on the planet. BTW, I think this is one of his best trios. Dan Wilson is a fantastic guitarist. Glad someone else appreciates the REAL talent exhibited here. I'm tired of looking at amateurs, I want to see the best of the best in the PRO ranks. Thanks.

chas

Chas, I knew this would get your attention. Very cool that Bob is a friend of Dan Wilson, he's a great talent in his own right. Glad to see you already have it in your library. I too have it on my mp3 devices

Steve, you are so right; they were having the time of their lives.

Short story: My drummer moved to California. We worked together about four years. On a return visit I booked him on a job. We were playing a disco, Manhattan Skyline. Both the drummer and the organ player started to trade fours, they were reaching a music high, it went on for eight minutes. When the song was over the drummer dropped his sticks; the organ player jumped from his chair, and they stood in the middle of the dance floor hugging. Everyone was out of their chairs applauding.

We had just gone through a magical musical moment. It does not happen often; but it will never be forgotten. The magic of music, how blessed we are.

It is magic, John C.

Those magic moments are few and far in between, but they are earthshaking.

Joey is my favorite living player, too. I remember buying the first album in 1980, almost 40 years (and 150 pounds) ago.

He was a little rough around the edges then, but now look at what he can do!

Thanks,


Russ

All that coming from those stubby little fingers !!!

John and Captain Russ,

Those are magic moments and earthshaking. I always played solo and never with a band, I wish I had that experience as a young man. If my godfather could grant me a wish I’d pick being able to play like Joey D.

Tony I guess long thin fingers aren’t a prerequisite to being a master on the Hammond.

And they're not a guarantee of any ability either ... Trust me !

Tony, I have complete trust! My fingers may be long but that never helped me.

Fingers?.. Lol

Practice makes perfect!

Actually, only PERFECT practice makes perfect ...

Donny, I have a $1 bill that says I can practice day and night, night and day for the rest of my life and I won’t become a Joey D, or any other great musician.

Steve don't worry about Joey D and everybody else practice.. learn from others...
gain as much experience as you can... become your own player.... no need to compare yourself to anybody else...

Be the best that YOU can be !!!

hmmmm where did I hear that before ?

Joey D was a child prodigy. Years ago, (feels like a lifetime ago), I did music comedy for a variety show (remember variety shows) - singers, dancers, comedians, big band, acrobats etc. A 14-15 year old Joey D. was featured on a B3 with his father (a fine horn player) and a drummer. For these shows, I did “floor comedy” between acts - curtain drawn as they set up for the next act. I remember well, when Joey performed, the guys in the big band and other music acts were on top of each other in the wings trying to get a glimpse of this kid. He was/is a phenom.

Great story Jerry, thanks for posting that one. I just took a look at Joey’s Wikipedia article and found this :

“DeFrancesco began playing the organ at the age of 4 and was playing songs by Jimmy Smith verbatim by the time he was 5. His father John began taking him to gigs from the age of 5, letting him sit in on sets.[10] “

I love Joey and it goes to show what exposing a child at an early age to music can do. Imagine one of your first "toys" being a Hammond B3 ! And having a dad who was a pretty good player right there to show you right off how to play it.
I didn't get my hands on a hammond until I was 18 and even though jazz was a foreign language in the suburbs of NJ I loved jimmy Smith. I though he did all the bass on the pedals so I concentrated on learning them. Asked all the piano teachers in my college how to do organ bass like him and they were clueless. Everything taught was Classical playing. Even took a semester of Classical organ to get better on the pedals. I got pretty good, THEN I find out its all LH !!!
No Internet or Youtube to learn from.
While Joey was getting exposure to the jazz scene as a kid we were all learning Good Loving on our Farfisa's LOL!
Expose kids to ALL types of music while they're young, the benefits are many besides becoming a musician. The Arts in schools is important !

I saw three doctors last week. One a keyboard/piano player, one a guitar player, and the other a drummer. A large number of doctors have music training.

Exactly my point Don. Learning music effects parts of our thinking that cover many areas. Math being one of the biggest. The discipline and focus are beneifits too in many areas.

To say Joey was a Prodigy is a question. Would he have developed his skills if not in the same environment ? Who knows, others from non-musical backrounds have reached high levels too.
I love seeing how he has inspired so many and kept the Hammond Legacy alive.

Many people think that the left handed players are simply substituting for another form of bass line generation.

I think that we are talking a "direct wired" issue here. While it's fabulous to hear musicians get "in the pocket", I think that the fascination with playing by Jimmy Smith and Joey is the direct wired connection between two intricate lines that work together. Intricate bass notes interspersed with rapid triplicates...it doesn't get any better.

Rather than being a substitute for a bass player, this is a complex, perfectly timed way of coordinating parts in a way you can't duplicate any other way.

It's GREAT , and Joey does it BEST!

R.

Russ, what a great observation. Non-LH bass players may not get it but if you think about it, no other individual can really give you the EXACT bass note/pattern that will PERFECTLY interact with the chord or comp pattern as the person themselves. Playing pedal bass goes way back, even beyond Wild Bill Davis and Jackie Davis and other jazz organ pioneers, but Jimmy Smith, along with Jack McDuff, Groove Holmes, and others, took it to a whole new level....leading to the current masters, Joey D, Tony Monaco, et. al.

So yes, if I'm going to see a jazz show featuring an organ trio/quartet, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR A BASS PLAYER. That Organ bass (when it's right) is as much a part of the musical excitement as any other musical part. So glad Russ pointed this out.

chas

Yup. No one can read my right, like my left.

Wow Dave, that should be a jazz organist's mantra....or anyone else that plays LH bass.

chas

When I was teaching guitar, I had my students play scales, it gave them better command of the instrument. There was one student I will never forget; after two months he was playing scales with speed and accuracy far beyond myself. These people are born with abilities that make them outstanding.

Perfect pitch. My wife’s student was able to tell her what note and what octave she was playing while he was standing in the hallway with no view if the piano.

The good news is that we can have moderate talent, and still love and enjoy making music. The best parts of my life included music, and I was never that great. I just enjoyed what was going on insdie of me.

John C.

The most difficult people I ever worked with had perfect pitch. But they
were very talented but knew it. Mel T.(full name left out on purpose) and a great old piano player and singer Al Morgan. Al never hit a wrong note and if he did he blamed the band.
MEL

I have a good friend, Richard, who is a top-notch musician. He plays piano, sax, clarinet, harmonica and even bagpipes, and he sounds almost exactly like Ronnie Milsap when he wants to. He and his two brothers are all blind, all excellent musicians and all have perfect pitch. They can play in any key effortlessly.
I asked him once about having perfect pitch and he told me that he "sees" the notes like colors; in other words each appears differently in his brain. He quit the traditional music business some years ago and became a minister. He does play a lot for his church and other worthy functions.
One of his brothers, Talmadge. has unfortunately almost lost his hearing, and that's a real tragedy.
When Richard used to work with me, I would try to fool him by hitting dis-chords but he could tell me immediately every note I hit, even when the chord was not musically correct. He also used to program my drum machines, and he was my "sound engineer" and would help me set e.q., etc., and then tell me "don't touch it".
Side note: One time when he wasn't working with me, his sister came in. I had never met her until she introduced herself. I asked her if she sang and she said yes, she loved to sing.
So I invited her to sing a song with me, and ...she was absolutely terrible. Couldn't hit a note on key to save her life! But she could see . . . maybe music talent could be some sort of compensation for physical disabilities in some cases.
Rory, Ray Charles, Milsap, all seem to have this talent.
I know the brothers all had early training in music theory but you can not teach perfect pitch.
Sorry for rambling.

You're not a 'ramblin man', Don ... that was a great story ...
thanks

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