Home » Jazz Articles » New York Beat » Joey DeFrancesco at Birdland
Joey DeFrancesco at Birdland
ByThe album celebrates the organist's association with famed record producer Rudy Van Gelder who, DeFrancesco revealed in a brief backstage interview, was the engineer for his second Columbia album Where Were You? back in 1990. That album came on the heels of an album with Miles Davis who abducted the 17 year-old phenom out of his Philadelphia environs to record Amandiain one of the most auspicious starts for any jazz musician in recent memory.
De Francesco commenced his Birdland outing with his usual B3 pyrotechnics weaving his way masterfully through Tatum-like sequences which have become trademarks of his prodigious talent. Imaginative exchanges with Bollenback and traditional 4 and 8 bar trades with Intorre (with occasional choruses from the intriguing percussionist) became the meat and potatoes of the set. A highlight was a playful rendition of Freddie Hubbard's Up Jumped Springa tune which neatly lent itself to DeFrancesco's adroit spacings and phrases. In addition, a performance of Canadian Sunset featured stirring lines from Bollenback and langorous explorations from DeFrancesco.
At 43, the wizard of the B3 continues to win critic's polls and dominate the scene. His plaudits are well-deserved as he steadfastly pursues new musical territory with sure-minded focus and a thorough knowledge and appreciation of important milestones in jazz history.
< Previous
Farvefisen Blomstrer
Comments
About Joey DeFrancesco
Instrument: Organ, Hammond B3
Related Articles | Albums | Photos | Similar ToTags
Joey DeFrancesco
New York Beat
Nick Catalano
United States
Paul Bollenback
Carmen Intorre
rudy van gelder
Miles Davis
Philadelphia
Freddie Hubbard