Joey DeFrancesco at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola

As the New York August heat blazed onto the streets on Saturday night (August 13th), Joey DeFrancesco and his trio rocketed into Dizzy's with their own burning repertoire. The B-3 wizard played four selections from his new HighNote CD Trip Mode and had an audience which included Bill Charlap, Paquito D'Rivera, and Todd Barkan roaring with approval for the tunes—some written with metronome settings breaking the sound barrier.

The new group features guitarist Dan Wilson and drummer Jason Brown flying alongside the organ master (bassist Mike Boone appears on the CD)—the trio projecting remarkable energy in the evening swelter. DeFrancesco brought out his trumpet a few times and vocalized "Around the World" adding to the musical multidimensionality he has displayed in recent years.

"In that Order" a DeFrancesco composition, opened the initial set and established the structure for the evening's performance—intricately rhythmed heads, multi-chorused solos, and crisp trade dialogues —all familiar features of DeFrancesco's oeuvre. Other compositions of the bandleader were "Cuz U Know"—a soaring blues with humorous interludes, and the title tune "Trip Mode"—a meteoric exercise in improvisational fortitude.

At age 45, the mostly self-ear-trained organist has already surpassed many of his jazz predecessors and with his trumpet playing and increased reading and compositional skills continually developing, one wonders what he will achieve next.

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