It's Hammond B3 Organ Day

Yes, I have a number of LP's with Jimmy McGriff. Hank Crawford and Jimmy, Gene Ammons and Jimmy, plus I've seen him live.

Maybe I'm showing my age, BUT- has anyone heard of Jimmy McGriff? I saw him live, many times, in Cleveland, O., Back in the 60's. Some samples, here; (http://music.yahoo.com/jimmy-mcgriff/albums/mcgriffs-blues--202254777) Jimmy Smith played some of the same venues, and both smoked those keys! I recently purchased Jimmy Smith, 'Bluesmith', as a 180 gram vinyl reissue(Russian pressing/EXCELLENT presentation). Bruce Katz & his B3 sound exceptional on the Joe Beard/Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters, 'Blues Union' JVC XRCD. I suppose I should buy the vinyl too, but the XRCD sounds so good......! BTW: The two disc/45rpm reissue of Jimmy Smith's, 'Midnight Special', was a MAJOR disappointment(Hoffman & Grey's mastering sucks).

Do a search and find the "Hammond Organ Radio" station on the internet. Lots of fun.

Richard "Groove" Holmes is always in the groove. When I go to heaven I hope they have an organist like the "Groovester".

Given my user name, you can guess I'm a big, big fan of the mighty Hammond. I am predominantly into Prog but also like some modern Jazz-rock bands such as the Big Organ Trio and Bigger Than a Breadbox.
If anyone was seeking out new albums or artists that use the Hammond extensively, here is my Rate Your Music Hammond list. It's quite long but then so it should be!

http://rateyourmusic.com/collection/Crazyworldof/stag/hammond/

My Hammond album of the day is Still Life's s/t. It is not sophisticated but the Hammond tone is superb.

http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/still_life_f1/still_life_f1/

qdrone, I own everything I could find by "Face", but nothing even remotely compares to seeing "Face" live.

Baby Face Willette was a personal friend of mine.

Check out this great video from a legend - Brian Auger - his playing just flows so naturally.

There is really some amazing chemistry going on here. Booker's laid back style seems to really contrast to the aggressive guitar riffs by the Truckers. Raw Funk at it's best. Drummer is rock solid on the beat - Brad propels things along like a jet engine...

Booker T. Jones has a new release titled "Potato Hole" check it out.

I intend to.

Meanwhile check this out WDR Big Band & Maceo

Booker T. Jones has a new release titled "Potato Hole" check it out.

If you love the B3 sound, head on over to Amazon and check out a band called Otis Grove.

My fav track of theirs is Pimp Juice.

Just a quick thanks to all who've contributed here. I usually just go straight to Jimmy Smith when I need a B3 shot, but lurking here I've been jostled into re-considering many records that I own (and need to revisit) and checking out many more that I don't (and need to find).

Marty

First introduced to the B-3 by one of the truly great underappreciated masters - Merl Saunders. Widely unknown, an unbelievable muscian and an even better human being. We lost him last year. Check out his work with Legion of Mary, especially the Live at Keystone series. Surprised no one mentioned Brent Midland so far. Another amazing B-3 wizard.

Some amazing B3 playing on School's In! by Maceo Parker....try Advanced Funk and the organ playing is just about as funky as it gets...Morris Hayes is on keyboard.

Aye, Hammonds lorst popularitay, bur juist loike history iss writtin' by th' victor, becoz Hammonds lorst popularitay doan mean nowt.

Ainnyhoots, Moog Model D lorst popularitay fast (yew culd fynd dems art 1/5th th' origernul 70s price innae erlay 80s) bur NOU dems be bleedin' expensif aygin cos dems bin rediscowerid fer wot dems troolay be.

Sem wif Hammonds - ah canny speak fer jazzbo, bur fer pwog, ah'd venture ter say 'ammonds ur makin' comeback feckin' big toime.
Sum o' baist currant pwog iss bein' pit oot by VA discs frue venture callit Collossus. Dem stipulates ANALOGUE keys ainnlay an' Hammonds ur awl ower thais cds.

Smacky - It doesn't speak bad of my town but rather of popularity of Hammond organs - extremely popular as a solo instrument up to 60's I guess, and loosing popularity afterwards. On the other hand roads were flooded and people couldn't even get there - I was lucky to live nearby (plus big thunderstorm).

Aye. Fowk ur ignurunt cahnts. (Juist luik art dis forum, fer Crikeys!)

Turdy peoples ter sees Defrancesco! Wot does dis speak o' yor town?

Ah wor art similar free corncert in me 'ometown.
Dennis Keldie iss 'un o' foremaist B-3-mons in Leutonia. ('im wor in mannay '70s Leutonieur rock ban's - doan arsk Wallace ter list dem cos dem ur aw' shoite. Nivvahmynd - iss th' keysmon wot mattahs,nort th' dungus ban'.)

It wor Saturdaay arfternoon an' ainnlay 20 peoples shew oop ter 'ear th' phenominawl Denis Keldie Trio. Performance wor so wic thart ah bleedin' haed tears in me eyen.

'im hus cd oot thas difficult ter git, ah expects. Callit , "Northern Hammond". (Tha's a pun cos durin' WW II Hammond madit B-3s in Belleville, Leutonia an' nemmed 'em's Northern Hammonds.)

Danlib1 - I second Joey Defrancesco - he is the greatest of all. He plays on Pat Martino "Live at Yoshi" - one of the better jazz records I know. He came to my small town last fall during thunderstorm and flooding and play to the audience of about only 30 people - it was unreal.

Fer yor clarrsick proggy, maist famoouse 'ammond twacks werenae B-3.

B-3s wor varra rare in owd Blightay. Europe alser.
Instaid C-3s wor distribo in Limeyland (frue Boosey & Hawkes.)

Surprizin' muckle werenae ewen 'ammond consoles bur wor th' spinet models:

Genesis "Trespass" =L-122 (alser oan "Foxtrot" n' "Nursery Cryme")
"Cinema Show" - wor a lowlay non-tonewheel, T-202 transistah joabbay

Nice "Same" lp & Artwoods = L-100
M-100s oan Affinity lp n' Floyd "Pompei" n' YES "Time & A Word". Focus "Hokus Pokus".

Ah fink, Procol's 'Whiter Shade of Pale" wor a M-111, bur nort shure.

O' th' consoles, th' twa baist-kenned UK keysmon, Wakeies n' Keefers, usid C-3 (Keef usid an' cheaper L model ter stick knives in.)

Mair den nort, Jon Lord usid C-3. (Hissen white C-3 endit oop oan bottum Hudson River.)

....
Yews gis uz dollah nou.

Maceo's Roots & Grooves - Advanced Funk and Pass the Peas has some real
funky live Hammond B3 by Germany's Frank Chestenier. I'd also suggest The
anthology collection of The J.B.'s with James Brown playing the organ on several
tracks and simply outstanding on Dirty Harri

NIACIN and anything with Bruce Katz are my favorites.

Having said that.....I can remember Steve Walsh of Kansas doing those hand stands on his B3 while playing & singing. I guess I saw Kansas 8 or 9 times?

Other than Jimmy Smith I really dig these two: "Live at Club Mozambique", Lonnie Smith; and "Zim Zam Zoom: Acid Blues on B-3", Ron Levy.

I really like After the Rain by John McLaughlin, which features Joey Defrancesco on the B3.

Try Medeski Martin Wood - Combustication Some great laid back flowing organ stuff coupled with some really funky drumming!

Richard Sinclair does nice and prominent "fuzz" organ work on early albums by talented Canterbury prog rock group "Caravan".

"Land Of Grey and Pink" in particular is a very impressive listen for the lead-organ-starved audiophile.

Cool.

By coincidence, I happened to pick up a second hand copy of "Mutual Respect" for a few bucks not long ago at the local music store for no reason other than it featured the Hammond Organ in a small jazz ensemble recording.

It has been one of my favorite random pickups in the last year or so. Wonderful sound and performance as I recall.

Glad to hear I have some company appreciating this rather obscure recording. I'll have to give it a fresh spin to comment in more detail.

BTW - I can confirm, live Santana band was a lot better than on CD's - simply put in a live performance they didn't compress the hell out of the drums and backing musicians and jack up the guitar like they do on the CD's.

Dennis Chambers on drums was astonishing. Played 3 hours absolutely perfectly "in the pocket". Never seen a drummer do that - usually on the fills (especially long complex ones) most drummers have a different feel (instead of making the fill part of the music). Dennis nails the groove all the way through and all the time...astonishing.

Chester Thompson was his old self - contorting like a madman over his Hammond and producing more feeling from a keyboard than I have heard in years...

Santana, what can I say, amazing! ...but lengthy guitar solos get tiring after a while even from a maestro.

Well I'm hoping to see CHESTER THOMPSON playing with Santana next week. Gotta love that B3 !!!!

Dennis Chambers on drums - should be a great gig with such greats.

Here is another great groove with some nice organ - The Meters - Look-Ka Py Py ...enjoy.

For some very enjoyable Hammond organ pick up Steve Winwood's new release, "Nine Lives".

That B-3 is one seductive lady...

Jake Langley, "Diggin' In" has Joey Defrancesco on Hammond B3. Worth a listen.

Listen to THIS - B3 solo starts around 7:20 but that great wurlitzer sound is throughout.

Two new additions for funky funky b3.

1. Wayne Goins, "A GoGo" is a great track.
2. Frederico Conti, "Yea Baby" is another track to check.

Jeff
ps. Go B3!

Might not be the greatest B-3 player, but Gregg Allman's B-3 playing certainly put the "gravy" on the music of the Allman Brothers Band.

I just recieved Root Down / Jimmy Smith . It's like Smith merged with Shaft but with obvious influences from a band that was very big at the time it was recorded WAR. It's live and it is real good.

Swampwalker was refering to Bruce Katz on the Ronnie Earl "Blues and Ballads" CD. Most excellent !

-Embryo, Warm Canto from the Rocksession disc, gorgeous relaxed playing combining vibes and B3.
-Wayne Peet, Visions from Fully Engulfed, amazing recording quality and a great version of a cool Larry Young tune.
-Larry Young on John McLaughlin's Devotion disc, scary narcotic feel, really memorable stuff. Haven't found anything quite like it... maybe Miles, Jack Johnson or early Emergency but that only hits a small piece of it.
-Atomic Rooster, Death walks Behind You... maybe not the best recording, but it rocks and those riffs will stick in the head.

also big John Patton and Shirley Scott.

Dr. Lonnie Smith. Genius.

Fmpnd, Angela and Shadorne - are you aware that Chester Thomson has two solo albums floating around out there? IIRC, I have them both - or two copys of one. Needless to say, he jams.

Mike

I received both of the Ken Clarck Organ Trio CDs today. I like it!

BTW, anybody check out the professional review of the Ronnie Earl-Blues and Ballads CD on Amazon? The reviewer killed it. After listing to a couple of the previews, I can understand where he was going with the review, but I'm also thinking it may be a pretty interesting CD. So, if you have heard it, do you think it is a masterpiece or a disjointed mess?

Enjoy,

TIC

Lest we forget Jon Douglas Lord of Deep Purple (I know the R&R Hall of Fame has).

I will agree that the B-3 on Ronnie Earl's Blues and Ballads CD is outstanding. I was looking for the case before posting to get the name. That is one sweet CD with a great bluesy/soul groove. Just discovered it recently.

sweet... well, looks like it's money spending time (AGAIN) thanks for all the great leads
Cheers,
Angela

Wow, I can't believe you folks are missing:
Ron Levy's Wild Kingdom!
"Ron Levy, B-3 organist, writer, arranger, raconteur and producer has enjoyed playing, working, and touring with some of the greatest names in Blues and Jazz since the early 1970's."
Cd: Best Grooves & Jams
Ron with: Ronnie Earl, Wayne Bennett, Jimmie Vaughn, Lowell Fulson, Albert Collins, Gray Sargent, Melvin Sparks, Freddie Hubbard, Sax Gordon, Smokin' Joe Kubek, B'Nois King, and BB King.
It's nice to share.

Wow!! I am a huge Hammond lover, and you all have mentioned spectacular musicians that have triggered a lot of fond memories.

I must say, my personal favorite...thus far, is Jimmy Smith. The Organ Grinder Swing is simply amazing!!!!!

Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Jack McDuff...Dear God where does the list end. Not to mention the 5th Beetle; the late Billy Preston.

Thanks for the nostalgic moment, everyone!

Shadorne, you are right on the money. Prme Time Funk and Mingo Fishtrap are better yet (more polished), the new Sage a bit more TOP-like and Santa Fe and the Fat City Horns are simply unbelievable (both CDs are live and they have unbelievable chops). Then, Strokeland Superband is almost exactly like listening to TOP.

Enjoy!!

Well the first disc arrived. PHAT PHUNKTION.

WOW - this is awesome stuff! Not quite at TOP level but then who is.....very polished and slick if only a little too polite.....lots of influences mesh together to make this a really a fun listen. They have a great bass player whoever he is!!!!

I can't wait for the next PHAT Phunktion album to arrive (to see how this great band have progressed!!)

Sorry my bad - wrong link on post above Zen Blues Quartet