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"I'm not gonna play 'Danny Boy'. I'm not gonna play 'Danny Boy' right now... maybe later..." mused undisputed Hammond B-3 champ Joey DeFrancesco while deciding what tune to continue with at his Dizzy's concert on Sept. 22.
Touring in support of his brand new recording, 40, on the High Note imprint, DeFrancesco was joined by Rick Zunigar on guitar, and the remarkable Ramon Banda on drums.
Banda opened the set with his personal distillation of the Elvin Jones Afro-Cuban beat, over which the organist laid down the melody before tossing the first solo to Zunigar. The guitarist plays with a thumb-pick, something I've never seen a jazz player do before.
Regardless of plectrum choice, Zunigar is a prime-time musician, he has an astonishing rapid-fire staccato, full of chromatic passing tones and laced with blues connotation-- very close in style to Pat Martino, who has worked with DeFrancesco a lot.
Banda is one of those active drummers who never lose sight of forward motion. Every explosive motif that bounced off of his kit had an intention to it--which was to facilitate maximum groove.
DeFrancesco was a noted admirer of the late organ king Jimmy Smith, and that influence is still a part of his improvising dynamic.
He's always been his own man, though, enough so that Miles Davis drafted him into his band at the age of 17 for a world tour in 1988.
DeFrancesco's left hand stabs out the changes while his right takes off with flurries that seem impossibly fast. The manic alacrity of his digits are at odds with his overall demeanor--he appears relaxed enough to do an advertisement for the Meditation Channel.
The trio swung so effortlessly that DeFrancesco was able to call some of the corniest tunes, like "I'm An Old Cow Hand" and Paul Anka's smarmy "My Way" and transform them into vehicles of groove infallibility.
He did not, however make it to "Danny Boy."
Pictured: Joey DeFrancesco
Credit: Melissa Morano
"I'm not gonna play 'Danny Boy'. I'm not gonna play 'Danny Boy' right now... maybe later..." mused undisputed Hammond B-3 champ Joey DeFrancesco while deciding what tune to continue with at his Dizzy's concert on Sept. 22.
Touring in support of his brand new recording, 40, on the High Note imprint, DeFrancesco was joined by Rick Zunigar on guitar, and the remarkable Ramon Banda on drums.
Banda opened the set with his personal distillation of the Elvin Jones Afro-Cuban beat, over which the organist laid down the melody before tossing the first solo to Zunigar. The guitarist plays with a thumb-pick, something I've never seen a jazz player do before.
Regardless of plectrum choice, Zunigar is a prime-time musician, he has an astonishing rapid-fire staccato, full of chromatic passing tones and laced with blues connotation-- very close in style to Pat Martino, who has worked with DeFrancesco a lot.
Banda is one of those active drummers who never lose sight of forward motion. Every explosive motif that bounced off of his kit had an intention to it--which was to facilitate maximum groove.
DeFrancesco was a noted admirer of the late organ king Jimmy Smith, and that influence is still a part of his improvising dynamic.
He's always been his own man, though, enough so that Miles Davis drafted him into his band at the age of 17 for a world tour in 1988.
DeFrancesco's left hand stabs out the changes while his right takes off with flurries that seem impossibly fast. The manic alacrity of his digits are at odds with his overall demeanor--he appears relaxed enough to do an advertisement for the Meditation Channel.
The trio swung so effortlessly that DeFrancesco was able to call some of the corniest tunes, like "I'm An Old Cow Hand" and Paul Anka's smarmy "My Way" and transform them into vehicles of groove infallibility.
He did not, however make it to "Danny Boy."
Pictured: Joey DeFrancesco
Credit: Melissa Morano