Organic Vibes

Joey DeFrancesco, who died in summer 2022, was the preeminent jazz organist of the 21st century. On the scene since adolescence, the Philadelphia native made dozens of albums as a leader and recorded as a sideman with Miles Davis, John McLaughlin, Van Morrison, and many others. This 2006 album features saxophonists Ron Blake and George Coleman, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, guitarist Jake Langley, and drummer Byron Landham. DeFrancesco was a hard-swinging player with a fondness for lightning-fast flourishes across the keys, and Landham is the perfect rhythmic partner, driving him hard on the fast tunes and settling into a gently brushed groove on ballads like “I Thought About You.” Hutcherson’s vibes shimmer like a silver cloud, and when Coleman shows up on “Speak Low” and “Somewhere In The Night,” the music gets even more soulful, somehow.