Joey DeFrancesco was considered by many to be the best Jazz Hammond B3 organ player in the world.
- Died: Thursday, August 25, 2022. (Who else died on August 25?)
- Details of death: Died at the age of 51.
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Hammond B3 Organ Legend
Joey DeFrancesco was born into a musical family as his father and grandfather were prominent jazz musicians. He started playing the Hammond organ at a young age and joined his first jazz band at the age of 10. His debut album “All of Me,” was released by Columbia Records when he was 17 years old. He then joined Miles Davis’s touring band and played keyboard on Davis’s 1989 album “Amandla.” DeFrancesco was inducted into the inaugural class of the Hammond Hall of Fame with his mentor Jimmy Smith and Stevie Winwood. DeFrancesco also played trumpet and sang and he was nominated four times for a Grammy Award. He released more than 30 albums and worked with many outstanding musicians including Van Morrison, David Sanborn, Jimmy Cobb, Bette Midler, among others. His most recent album “More Music,” was released in 2021.
Notable Quote
“I’ve always been stretching the boundaries of the instrument since day one.” “I have my influences, but nobody’s played the organ the way I play it.” – He told Philadelphia Weekly in 2019
Tributes to Joey DeFrancesco
Full Obituary: NPR
