A week ago I had the pleasure of attending a fantastic concert at Blues Alley in D.C by the king of the Hammond B-3 organ, Joey DeFrancesco, and his trio, consisting of Pat Bianchi on electric organ and Byron Landham on drums. Vocalist Colleen McNabb also made a guest appearance on two of the songs.
I'll start by saying that the group grooved their asses off, from funk to swing. Like any great group, they knew how to play with each other. Byron Landham and Joey D have been playing together for a few decades now, so this is to be expected. But the upcoming organist Pat Bianchi certainly knew how to compliment the group well. Although his presence may have been a little bit extraneous, as the two organists can conflict with each other (since their functions are very similar), he managed to find his niche in the group and do his thing while attempting not to get in Joey D's way.
Despite Bianchi's impressive performance, there is no doubt that he was overshadowed by the king of the jazz organ. Joey DeFrancesco took the music to another level. His sheer technical proficiency was enough to make you cringe. But it was more than that; he was tasteful with what he played. His use, and for that matter, the entire group's use of dynamics, was striking. This was most evident in the solos. Joey D and Byron Landham especially knew how to compose and improvise an interesting solo. The two operated so closely knit that it was hard to separate the soloist from the comper; as the "Jazz Police" writes, the two "almost function as a single unit in performance." The way that they played off of each other was probably what made the show most intriguing. The two showcased an excellent use of dynamics. Often times the two would transition from an airy, open feel, to a solid groove where the dynamics smoothly spiked in intensity. These transitions often resulted in wild blowing on Joey D's part, in which his technical proficiency, meshed with the intensity, produced extremely exciting and ecstatic moments for the audience.
One criticism I would offer, though, concerns the vocalist Colleen McNabb. I thought that her presence detracted from the energy of the show. During those two songs she sung, there was such a drop in the energy that I stopped paying attention and concentrated on paying my bill. I could understand that Joey D wanted to play a mellower section of the concert, but that didn't have to mean such a drop in energy.
Joey D ended strong, however. He only played one song after McNabb left the stage; he introduced it by asking the audience, "Do you all want to get funky?" The group immediately started a FUNKY beat. It was a blues melody, probably improvised on the spot by Joey D. But the spontaneity of it didn't detract from the song at all. I can't speak for everybody there, but I know I wanted to get up and dance. And if it wasn't so cramped in there the crowd probably would have. But the blowing on this song was what got me most. I had noticed that Joey D had been singing all of his solos (no easy feat, considering they were improvised and COMPLEX). But on this song he put the microphone to his mouth and scatted his solo along with playing it. He even immediately those wild, gut-wrenching organ growls. Believe me, that song was an experience you did not want to miss. Afterwards no one wanted to leave and everybody called for an encore. Unfortunately Joey D didn't comply, but that is to be expected at Blues Alley, as they don't like to give their audience a cent more than they paid for. I don't think I comprehended the magnitude of this event at the time, but now I realize that I was able to experience and hear one of the greatest living jazz masters first hand at his best.
Check out Joey D on Youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPFy4NozwWw (He plays with the same group in this one)
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