...Joey DeFrancesco’s technical facility on the instrument was his most obvious trait but he possessed all the subtle talents as well - incredible feel, light and swinging left hand/pedal technique, wonderful accompaniment skills where he utilized the entire instrument, comfort in many styles, and most importantly, Joey really played the blues (even when he was a teenager). Anyone who willingly shares the bill with Jimmy Smith, as Joey did many times, live and on record, knows what the hell they’re doing. A few years ago, I was desperate to find someone who would move an organ down the hellish stairs at The Village Vanguard, when Joey came through and offered one of his instruments to be moved from Birdland, as long as a reliable moving company did the job. Unfortunately the organ was not returned to him unscathed. Something must have happened at the end of the week when the movers hauled the organ up and out. This news was reported to me by Joey. On several occasions, Joey took the time to reach out to me with positive words about my own records. As recently as last month, he texted me that he was playing my trio’s new record (with Peter Bernstein and Bill Stewart) on his XM radio show. What a beautiful cat. I can’t imagine the number of players who started playing organ on account of Joey. But he wasn’t just an organist. He was a very good trumpet player, and in recent years he was touring as a tenor saxophone player, hiring organists to play behind him for part of the set. He confidently held his own on the horn, playing soulfully and with a great sound, which is just truly amazing to me. And talk about living out one’s dreams! I send my deepest condolences to all who knew and loved Joey, especially his family. MY FULL TRIBUTE TO JOEY IS ON MY FACEBOOK PAGE @joey_defrancesco