Monday, August 16, 2010

Joey DeFrancesco (with David Sanborn) at the Monroe Jazz Festival

Our city of Monroe has, every year, an incredible and free (!) Jazz Festival.

Last night we heard incredible guitarist Chuck Loeb.

Then, David Sanborn (the phenomenal saxophonist)... and... what a surprise... the world's greatest jazz organist... Joey DeFrancesco. Oh my, I have never heard Hammond B3 playing like that in my life. What a virtuoso. The ease with which he plays, the drama and energy, and the raw speed that is, perhaps, incomparable. If you think this is an exaggeration listen to, e.g., DeFrancesco's "Goodfellas" (which he wrote for the movie). Prepare for your jaw to drop.

It was a beautiful, awe-inspiring evening of music with somewhere between 5-10 thousand people there.