The Hammond B-3 organ is an expensive and unwieldy instrument, so it is understandable why we don’t see very many of them on the club circuit or why there are so few young organists out there. It must have been refreshing to the jazz community in the late 80s when a young Joey DeFrancesco (pictured) put out his first album as a leader at the tender age of 18. DeFrancesco, son of “Papa” John DeFrancesco, a well respected organist in his own right, is carrying the torch of organ jazz and has played with luminaries such as Miles Davis, John McLaughlin, and Pat Martino. Last night, his trio arrived at Blues Alley to begin a four night stand. Unlike many organists who tend to adopt a soul-jazz sound in the vein of Richard “Groove” Holmes or Jack McDuff, last night’s trio stuck mainly to a straight ahead jazz sound and occasionally ventured into more adventurous territory.

Tradition warrants respect, and all musicians should steep themselves in the history of their art form. The musicians playing last night certainly understand the music of their forebears. While last night’s set was excellent, elements of the performance hinted at an approach to organ based jazz that could be spectacular. There is certainly no fault in playing standards with as much skill and expertise as Joey DeFrancesco’s group, but such ability could yield marvelous results if the group gave us just a little less history and more of the present and future.

Image taken from Joey DeFrancesco’s MySpace page