„To me, this record sits at a new intersection of jazz and blues without losing the integrity of the classic songs…“ – Quincy Jones

„Mr. DeFrancesco is a deeply authoritative musician, a master ofrhythmic pocket, and of the custom of stomping bass lines beneath chords and riffs.“ – The New York Times

When jazz aficionados think of Joey DeFrancesco–and they often do–they ponder his matchless talents as a modern-day avatar of the Hammond B3 organ and the Philadelphia history he shares with his principle instrument. Organ-based blues and jazz started in Philly and DeFrancesco is the first to tell you so.

DeFrancesco is adored for his buoyant, moody sense of swing and balladry as a composer and as a player. That’s a bluesy, blustery sensibility shared with the men in his family: saxophonist/grandfather Joseph DeFrancesco, and his father–organist „Papa“ John DeFrancesco. Jazz lovers also dig DeFrancesco’s second instrument, the trumpet, and the inspiration gleaned from his first big boss, Miles Davis–with whom DeFrancesco gigged when the organist was in his late teens.

„All that–that’s what’s been expected of me, all of which makes me proud, but there’s so much more,“ says DeFrancesco on the day he flew back to Philadelphia from his current home base of Phoenix. DeFrancesco stopped by the City of Brotherly Love to receive a star on the Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame alongside local giants such as Coltrane, Dizzy and Nina Simone.

So for Joey DeFrancesco’s upcoming album, Project Freedom–his debut for the Mack Avenue Records label–DeFrancesco adds several feathers to his cap including those of world traveling storyteller, quartet leader, freedom fighter, peace maker, spiritual healer and genre-busting composer and cover artist. „All of my albums mean a lot to me,“ he says. „Project Freedom though–this one means just a little bit more.“

Artykuł Joey DeFrancesco Project Freedom pochodzi z serwisu Cleartone.