Joey DeFrancesco
About this Artist
Raised in Philadelphia, Joey DeFrancesco considers this the place where the foundation of his musical roots in jazz, blues, and other genres was born. To hear him play today is to discover the embodiment of the traditional art form infused with a distinct modern approach, just part of what makes his music unmistakably his own.
Joey DeFrancesco’s emergence in the 1980s marked the onset of a musical renaissance. Organ jazz had all but gone into hibernation from the mid-’70s to the mid-’80s until DeFrancesco reignited the flame with his vintage Hammond organ and Leslie speaker cabinet. The son of “Papa” John DeFrancesco, an organist himself, the younger DeFrancesco remembers playing as early as age four. Soon after, his father began bringing him to gigs in Philadelphia, sitting in with legendary players like Hank Mobley and Philly Joe Jones, who quickly recognized his talent and enthusiasm. With a natural gift for music, DeFrancesco also swiftly picked up on the trumpet after a touring stint with Miles Davis as one of the two youngest players ever recruited for any of Davis’ ensembles.
DeFrancesco has recorded and/or toured with his own groups as well as numerous renowned artists that include Ray Charles, Van Morrison, Diana Krall, Nancy Wilson, George Benson, James Moody, John Scofield, Bobby Hutcherson, Jimmy Cobb, John McLaughlin, Larry Coryell, David Sanborn, and many others. The four-time Grammy® nominee, with more than 30 recordings as a leader under his belt, has received countless Jazz Journalists Association awards and other accolades worldwide, including being inducted into the inaugural Hammond Organ Hall of Fame in 2014, the Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame in 2016, as well as topping the Critics Polls in DownBeat magazine 11 times over the past 15 years and the Readers Polls every year since 2005. DeFrancesco also hosts “Organized,” a weekly program on SiriusXM Radio’s Real Jazz channel.
2019 saw the master organist celebrate the 30th anniversary of his debut album and the release of the adventurous recording In The Key of the Universe, launched in March on Mack Avenue Records.