Rich Tones Curated Jazz

Joey DeFrancesco Interview | May 27, 2022

Published May 22, 2022 at 2:40 PM MDT

Joey DeFrancesco

I had the pleasure of talking to Joey DeFrancesco, jazz organist extraordinaire before his current tour.

If you haven't heard jazz on the Hammond B3 organ, you're in for a treat! Joey DeFrancesco is today's master of the instrument. He also plays trumpet and saxophone and other keyboards on his many albums.

At the age of 4 Joey started playing the organ, learning Jimmy Smith songs. Jimmy Smith was the "godfather" of jazz organ players, and Joey got to meet him when he was 8 years old. Eventually they did an album together and toured together. Here is a video of the two of them at the San Francisco Jazz Festival on October 28, 1999. The video was taken by Pete Fallico from behind the curtain backstage.

Joey played with Miles Davis when he was just 17 years old, and is featured on the Amandla album. And here is Joey's official website so you can see where he is playing:

https://www.joeydefrancesco.com/

Here is tonight's playlist.

Rich Tones Curated Jazz

Rich Rector

Rich Rector is the host of Rich Tones Curated Jazz. A one hour journey into the wonderful world of jazz music.

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Rich has been around music all his life. His dad had a swing band in the 1940’s and played saxophones and clarinets. Rich played one of those clarinets in grade school band, and also took up the guitar in high school. But never was a jazz player. Instead, he listened! RichTones Curated Jazz on KPCW gives our listeners a new perspective on jazz.

While attending Stanford University Rich's roommate, Ian McIlraith, was a jazz saxophone player who was familiar with many jazz players and songs. Ian really educated him about jazz; he taught him how to listen closely for different artists’ playing styles and he introduced him to the classic jazz standards.

He honed his listening skills by attending many concerts and jazz festivals. Some of the people and places Rich remembers are Mike Stern at The Regatta Bar at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge, MA; Milt Jackson at The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, CA; Bill Frisell at The Blue Note in NYC; local combos at The Green Mill in Chicago; and The Blue Room in Kansas City’s Jazz District, just to name a few. In addition, Rich was able to see performances by Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Pat Metheny Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis and many more.

If you’re new to jazz, Rich Tones will introduce you to new players and sounds; if you’re already a jazz buff, Rich Tones will give you a new personal perspective on the genre.