Jazz Articles about Joey DeFrancesco

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Joey DeFrancesco: 40

by Jack Bowers
October 27, 2011

With 40, Joey DeFrancesco--the world's foremost contemporary jazz organist--heralds his fortieth birthday by presiding over a trio session that is typically dexterous and engaging from start to finish. As good as it is, however, a DVD would be even more persuasive, as DeFrancesco's consummate mastery of his chosen instrument should really be seen as well as heard to be thoroughly appreciated. His right hand is so virtuosic that he seldom has need for the left, using it sparingly to append ...

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Joey DeFrancesco - Robi Botos - Vito Rezza - Phil Dwyer: One Take - Volume Four

by AAJ Italy Staff
July 18, 2011

"No rehearsals, no overdubs, no edits, just raw, untouched and inspired performances, in One Take!". Recita così il retro del CD pubblicato da Alma Records, il quarto volume della serie One Take, ovvero registrazioni proposte senza particolari accorgimenti di produzione, in maniera diretta, naturale. I protagonisti della sessione sono: Joey DeFrancesco, sempre puntuale all'Hammond e voglioso di intessere trame scattanti e decise; un roccioso Vito Rezza dietro i tamburi; Robi Botos, che si divide tra pianoforte e Fender Rhodes; il ...

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Joey DeFrancesco / Robi Botos / Vito Rezza / Phil Dwyer: One Take, Volume Four

by Edward Blanco
December 5, 2010

In 2003, Toronto-based musician/producer Peter Cardinali birthed the idea of assembling a group of jazz musicians at the very top of their game and letting them jam in the studio--rolling the tape with no rehearsals, no overdubs and no edits--essentially recording their music in one take. One Take, Volume Four is the fourth album in a series featuring organist Joey DeFrancesco and drummer Vito Rezza--both members of the first One Take series--joined, this time, by pianist Robi Botos and tenor ...

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Joey DeFrancesco / Robi Botos / Vito Rezza / Phil Dwyer: One Take: Volume Four

by Larry Taylor
December 1, 2010

One of the great pleasures of jazz is entering a club to hear expert musicians come together and play impromptu, with no rehearsals. Such a situation is created in One Take, Volume Four. This is the fourth recording in the series to feature world acclaimed organist Joey DeFrancesco with three expert Canadian musicians; in this case, the seriously swinging tenor saxophonist Phil Dwyer, very capable pianist Robi Botos (also doubling on Fender Rhodes), and drummer Vito Rezza, ...

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Joey DeFrancesco: Never Can Say Goodbye: The Music of Michael Jackson

by Glenn Astarita
October 10, 2010

Cross-pollinating jazz and pop does not always yield fruitful residuals--in many instances, it equates to an unbalanced succession of musical events. Here, however, Hammond-B3 titan Joey DeFrancesco renders a happy medium by jazzing up the songbook from the late pop icon Michael Jackson, with jazz, funk and rock stylizations, while retaining its inherent components. DeFrancesco and his band morph grooving jazz improvisation with Jackson's melodic hooks, yet neither genre dominates.DeFrancesco carves the classic soul-pop ballad, “Never Can Say ...

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Joey DeFrancesco: Joey D!

by Jack Bowers
April 22, 2009

Joey DeFrancesco, who has graduated from heir-apparent to undisputed king among contemporary jazz organists, is in his element here, presiding over a trio comprised of himself, undervalued tenor saxophonist Jerry Weldon and reliable drummer Byron Landham. Rest assured DeFrancesco's nimble fingers are as virtuosic as ever, and there's no need to fret about the slender rhythm section, as DeFrancesco happily provides his own.

DeFrancesco is perfectly at ease and in control even though recording for the first time on a ...

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Joey DeFrancesco: Live: The Authorized Bootleg

by Samuel Chell
August 31, 2008

Organist Joey DeFrancesco deserves credit for showcasing some comparatively neglected voices on the music scene, like tenor saxophonist Houston Person and clarinetist Mort Weiss. George Coleman, the featured guest on this outing, came up playing alto (Lee Morgan, City Lights, Blue Note 1957), though he would soon shift exclusively to tenor while retaining much of the smaller horn's high-register emphasis. A recently-issued 1963 Miles Davis concert with Coleman (Live at Monterey, Concord 2007) is so spellbinding it might lead to ...