By: Joe Lang
In one night, the two most prestigious jazz clubs in the Twin Cities were home to one of the greatest soul jazz exponents on the planet, Joey DeFrancesco. At 9 p.m., the Hammond B-3 giant took the stage at the Dakota, accompanied by guitarist Jake Langley and drummer Byron "Wookie" Landham. Although DeFrancesco’s last album, Legacy, was a collaborative tribute to his greatest inspiration on the instrument, Jimmy Smith, the majority of the set was culled from his forthcoming release, Organic Vibes. Rather than the bluesy, Smith-style organ playing I'd heard when I saw DeFrancesco some time ago at the Hot Summer Jazz Festival, the organic vibe cuts the band played had much more of a Larry Young feel to them with more staccato, bebop-ish runs.
The band opened with "Speak Low," which sounded more like a standard than some of the actual standards they played later in the evening; the structure of the opening was very much in the vein of straight ahead, hard bop. As DeFrancesco hammered out solo after solo, his face seemed to change with each note from grimace to laughter. Jake Langley provided fast and fat straight jazz bebop counterpoint on his Guild. But it was Byron Landham who truly shined as the band dropped out and he displayed powerful but not overpowering snare control and intricate rolls.
Midway through the set, Defrancesco invited his fiancée, Coleen, to the stage for the standards "I'm in the Mood for Love" and "Cheek to Cheek." Even though I personally detest the first of the two songs, and really don't get into vocal jazz at all (I've heard it hundreds of times at weddings), Coleen demonstrated an elegant vocal prowess. For me, the highlights of the evening were not when DeFrancesco played his organ; rather, he really shined on his trumpet. Although he only picked up the instrument twice, DeFrancesco had the smoky rasp of Miles and blew out thoughtful, clean and engaging solos. The only problem with the set overall was its brevity - the band played for just over an hour. In retrospect, though, it can't be held against them because they really weren't done.
Afterwards I headed to the Artists' Quarter in St. Paul to meet my drummer, as I heard that Joey and his band mates were headed over to play some more. DeFrancesco's band took the stage again, and played two breakneck bop-ish pieces. The crowd at the club was delighted, and the band was still in high gear. Other than one more trumpet solo later on in the house band's set, DeFrancesco and Langley threw in the towel for the evening.
The typical Tuesday night B-3 Organ band played out the rest of the night; fronted by guitarist Billy Franze and backed by the club's owner, Kenny Horst, the band played standards, but also mixed in funk and blues, including a cover by The Meters. The highlight of their set was bringing Debbie Duncan to the stage, who happened to be in the audience. Although I'd heard about Duncan, I'd never heard her sing; by the end of her wailing blues piece, "Drink Muddy Water," I was sold. When she finished, the entire club was shouting, and DeFrancesco's fiancée was on her feet applauding.
For Mr. Wookie, the night was not over. After every other musician called it a night, Byron Landham took his seat on the house kit for a 15 minute solo that tore the house down. As previously mentioned, Landham has an extremely formidable snare skill, and he used it not to overpower, but to slowly unfold his solo, which came down with a whirlwind crescendo that had other drummers in the audience smiling and shaking their heads in awe.
Between the two clubs, the night featured just about everything a jazz fan could ask for: sit-ins, surprises and supreme musicianship. For anyone looking for a fix until next time a soul jazz great is in town, the house band plays every Tuesday night at the AQ.
Location Info:
Dakota Jazz Club
Artist Info: Joey DeFrancesco
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