A virtuoso jazz musician who became a master of vintage Hammond organ grooves, Joey DeFrancesco helped spark a resurgence in popularity for the instrument in the 1990s, working with some of the greats including Miles Davis, Van Morrison, and John McLaughlin. Born in Springfield, Pennsylvania On April 10, 1971, his father, Papa John DeFrancesco, used to play in the Dorsey Brothers swing band and was a big figure on the Philadelphia jazz scene, and young Joey started plonking away on his Hammond B-3 Organ from the age of four. His ear for music and natural feel for improvisation was further developed by obsessively listening to records by Jimmy Smith and Jack McDuff, and by the age of six he was sitting in with his father when he played at local bars. He had more formal, classical training from Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts and was soon opening shows for Wynton Marsalis and BB King before signing to Columbia Records at the age of 16. He was still only 17 when he toured Europe as part of the Miles Davis Band in 1988 and released his debut album, All of Me, a year later. He went on to establish his slick, soulful improvisations on early albums Where Were You? (1990) and Reboppin’ (1992). His soaring, vintage organ sound drew from gospel churches, 1960s psychedelic funk, and modern jazz instrumentals and he further built his reputation by working as a sideman for guitarist John McLaughlin and collaborating with Jack McDuff on the 1996 album It's About Time. Joey DeFrancesco also took up the trumpet after being inspired by touring with Miles Davis. He paid tribute to his Italian background and love of mafia movies on albums Joey DeFrancesco’s Goodfellas (1999) and Falling in Love Again (2003) before working with the pioneering icon of the Hammond organ Jimmy Smith on Legacy in 2005. Other career stand outs include 2010’s Never Can Say Goodbye on which he interpreted the music of Michael Jackson, and Enjoy the View, his 2014 collaboration with Bobby Hutcherson. Joey DeFrancesco played with a quartet on the soulful Trip Mode (2015) and teamed up with Van Morrison on the album You're Driving Me Crazy (2018). Joey DeFrancesco was nominated for a Grammy Award for the fourth time in 2018 for the impassioned Motown-jazz sprawl Project Freedom (2017). In 2019, Joey DeFrancesco collaborated with Pharoah Sanders on the album In the Key of the Universe, which was followed in 2021 by the album More Music, the final album released during his lifetime. On August 25, 2022, Joey DeFrancesco died at the age of 51. With over 30 albums released in his lifetime, Joey DeFrancesco’s musical legacy will be remembered and rediscovered for years to come.
