Articles

Daily articles carefully curated by the All About Jazz staff. Read our popular and future articles.

YEAR IN REVIEW January 1, 2020

Most Read Album Reviews: 2019

All About Jazz tracks how often an album review is read, and the reviews listed below represent our most popular in 2019. The number to the right of the date published represents the article's read count as of December 30th. In The Key Of The Universe Joey DeFrancesco by Chris Mosey Published: February 10, 2019 Epistrophy Bill Frisell | Thomas Morgan by John Kelman ...

LIVE REVIEW December 6, 2019

Joey DeFrancesco at Chris’ Jazz Café

By Victor L. Schermer

Joey DeFrancesco Trio & Quartet Chris' Jazz Café Philadelphia, PA November 30, 2019 In the 1970s, before he became a famed performer, Joey DeFrancesco was already at the prodigious age of 10 (!) playing gigs with the likes of Philly Joe Jones, Shirley Scott, and Hank Mobley at local jazz clubs in Philadelphia. Fast forward a few decades, and there comes a rare chance to hear the now international icon in a ...

INTERVIEW June 2, 2019

Joey DeFrancesco: From Musical Prodigy to Jazz Icon

By Victor L. Schermer

Joey DeFrancesco is a true master of the jazz organ, the one others look up to as the standard bearer, as was his inspirational hero, Jimmy Smith. Arguably, he could be dubbed the Mozart of the jazz organ, since like Mozart, he seemed to have been born with all the music already in him. By four, again like Mozart, he was studying with his father. His dad, organist Papa" John DeFrancesco took Joey with him on gigs around jny: Philadelphia. ...

ALBUM REVIEW March 14, 2019

Joey DeFrancesco: In The Key Of The Universe

By Doug Collette

Joey DeFrancesco has stretched himself regularly throughout the course of thirty-plus albums. Just since Project Freedom (Mack Avenue, 2017) he's collaborated very productively for two albums with the Irish soulman Van Morrison--You're Driving Me Crazy (Sony Legacy, 2018) and The Prophet Speaks (Caroline, 2018). And, on In The Key of the Universe, the organist/trumpeter reaffirms his connection with jazz history through fruitful work with estimable musicians including saxophonist Pharoah Sanders and drummer Billy Hart.DeFrancesco himself sounds effortless as ...

ALBUM REVIEW February 10, 2019

Joey DeFrancesco: In The Key Of The Universe

By Chris Mosey

This is an important, even historic album. It marks--unannounced--the return of a great figure of the free jazz era, Pharoah Sanders. Saxophonist Albert Ayler once famously declared, “Trane was the Father, Pharoah was the Son, I am the Holy Ghost." Hammond organist Joey DeFrancesco has orchestrated Sanders' return from oblivion. Without it, the album would be just one more round of Hammond organ tunes that adhere to DeFrancesco's dictum “I just like to swing." ...

YEAR IN REVIEW January 3, 2018

Steve Bryant's Best Releases Of 2017

By Steve Bryant

My personal favorites from 2017. The best of the best. Joey DeFrancesco + The People Project Freedom Mack Avenue Eddie Palmieri Sabiduria Ropeadope Jazzmeia Horn Social Call Concord Charles Lloyd New Quartet Passing Through Blue Note Arturo O'Farrill / Chucho Valdes Familia: Tribute to Bebo & Chico Motema

NEW YORK BEAT August 18, 2016

Joey DeFrancesco at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola

By Nick Catalano

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 ...