10257 - DANNY GATTON & JOEY DEFRANCESCO - RELENTLESS (1994
DANNY GATTON JOEY DEFRANCESCO
''RALENTLESS''
1994
62:42
**********
1 Fine (Danny Gatton) 04:19
2 Broadway (Billy Bird, Ray Henderson, Teddy McRae, Henri Woode) 06:10
3 Kindred Spirits (Danny Gatton) 07:46
4 The Chess Players (Wayne Shorter) 09:45
5 Gearheads (Joey DeFrancesco, Danny Gatton) 04:45
6 Blues On The Half Shell (A. W. Bullington) 06:53
7 The Pits (Danny Gatton) 11:49
8 Big Mo (Danny Gatton) 04:40
9 Well You Needn't (Thelonious Monk) 06:33
**********
Timm Biery/Drums
Joey DeFrancesco/Hammond B3
Danny Gatton/Guitar
John Previti/Bass Guitar
**********
REVIEW/AMG
Scott Yanow
This was a logical matchup. Danny Gatton was a high-powered and very versatile guitarist who could play virtually any modern style. His tonal distortions and use of feedback were impressive but he could also swing as hard as anyone around. The same could be said of organist Joey DeFrancesco and, together with bassist John Previti and drummer Timm Biery, the lead voices romp on a variety of fairly basic material with lots of blues and a few standards. Although no new revelations are offered, the joyful chancetaking of Danny Gatton kept the music from ever becoming predictable or too relaxed; he certainly challenges DeFrancesco throughout this set.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG/DANNY GATTON
Steve Huey
Guitar virtuoso Danny Gatton was known for the incredibly wide stylistic range of his playing; based in rockabilly, Gatton's musical vocabulary included R&B, pop, country, rock, and jazz, all of which he could play effectively. Gatton began playing at age nine, joining his first band, the Lancers, three years later. In 1960, Gatton pursued a jazz direction when he joined the Offbeats, where pianist/organist Dick Heintze proved to be one of Gatton's biggest influences. The band broke up four years later, and Gatton moved to Nashville to get into session work; there he met Roy Buchanan, who briefly became his roommate and taught him more about his instrument of choice. Eventually, Gatton built a reputation as a top-notch guitarist around his native Washington, D.C., area through his club performances. He recorded an album with his backing band the Fat Boys titled American Music in 1975 and followed it with Redneck Jazz in 1978. The band on the latter featured steel guitarist Buddy Emmons, drummer Dave Elliott, and eventual longtime cohorts Evan Johns on vocals and rhythm guitar and John Previti on bass.
Gatton's albums led to offers from other musicians to join their bands. Lowell George extended an invitation after leaving Little Feat, but was found dead two days later. Gatton wound up touring with country singer Roger Miller and rockabilly artist Robert Gordon, giving him national exposure and a growing cult among guitar fans, who traded bootlegs of Gatton concerts. Gatton returned to Washington, D.C., to be near his friends and family while playing up and down the East Coast with several bands and doing session work. When Gatton purchased an old farmhouse in need of expensive renovations in 1988, he decided to pursue his music career more seriously. He released his first solo album since 1978 the next year, Unfinished Business, which drew notices from several guitar-oriented magazines as well as Rolling Stone. Elektra Records signed him during the summer, and he made his major-label debut in 1991 with the tremendously varied instrumental album 88 Elmira St. 1992 saw Gatton's first straight-ahead jazz album, New York Stories, recorded for none other than Blue Note. Gatton toured the nation solo for the first time in 1993 in support of Cruisin' Deuces, but its lack of success, coupled with the departure of A&R man Howard Thompson from Elektra, spelled the end of Gatton's association with the label. Gatton returned to session work to pay the bills, but sustained a further blow when rhythm guitarist Billy Windsor died of a heart attack early in 1994. Gatton collaborated with organ virtuoso Joey DeFrancesco on Relentless in May and toured Europe during the summer. Sadly, on October 4, 1994, Gatton locked himself in his garage and shot himself. He left behind no explanation.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG/JOEY DEFRANCESCO
Steve Huey
The music of Joey DeFrancesco -- an important force in the revival of the Hammond B-3 organ as a jazz instrument -- runs the gamut from soul-jazz and bluesy grooves à la Jimmy Smith to hard bop to the more advanced modal style of Coltrane disciple Larry Young. Born in Springfield, PA (near Philadelphia), on April 10, 1971, DeFrancesco was the son of another Philly-area jazz organist, Papa John DeFrancesco, and the grandson of multi-instrumentalist Joe DeFrancesco, who worked with the Dorsey Brothers. He began playing piano at age four and quickly switched to his father's instrument, preferring the sound of the Hammond B-3 over the modern synthesizers that had become the dominant alternative to piano. He began sitting in at his father's club gigs around age six; by age ten, he was performing paying gigs on the weekends and sitting in with artists like Jack McDuff and Groove Holmes.
DeFrancesco continued to study through high school, drawing from Philadelphia's rich jazz organ heritage and the numerous veteran players who still found work on the city's club scene. At 16, he was the first recipient of the Philadelphia Jazz Society's McCoy Tyner Scholarship, and was also a finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition. He met Miles Davis on a local television show and impressed the trumpeter enough that DeFrancesco was invited on tour following his high-school graduation in 1988.
After appearing on the well-received Live Around the World and Amandla albums, DeFrancesco scored a solo deal with Columbia and released his debut as a leader, All of Me, in 1989. Four more Columbia albums followed (Where Were You?, Part III, Reboppin', Live at the Five Spot), one per year, and DeFrancesco's reputation grew steadily, helped by the fact that as a virtuosic yet vintage-style organist, he was something of an anomaly on the early-'90s jazz scene. His arrival presaged -- and, in fact, helped kick-start -- a renewal of interest in organ jazz of all stripes, and he remained one of the most versatile and advanced of the new breed of players; inspired by Davis, he even picked up the trumpet as a second instrument.
After parting ways with Columbia, DeFrancesco recorded sets for Muse and Big Mo, and began working extensively with guitarist John McLaughlin. His appearance on 1994's After the Rain and his subsequent international tour with McLaughlin brought him to a whole new audience. He spent the next few years working mostly as a sideman, however, and returned to the studio under his own name in 1998, recording All or Nothing at All for Big Mo; he also appeared with his father on All in the Family for High Note. The following year brought The Champ, a tribute to Jimmy Smith (also on High Note), and a new record deal with Concord Jazz, which kicked off with the Mafia movie soundtrack tribute Goodfellas.
DeFrancesco finally teamed up with longtime hero Jimmy Smith for 2000's Incredible!, and issued the Concord follow-up Singin' and Swingin' in 2001, which spotlighted his easygoing vocals. In the meantime, he also continued to record sessions for High Note, including the sequel The Champ: Round 2 (2000) and another tribute to one of his influences, The Philadelphia Connection: A Tribute to Don Patterson (2002). Always a busy and prolific artist, DeFrancesco released five albums in the next five years: 2003's Falling in Love Again, which featured jazz singer Joe Doggs; 2004's Plays Sinatra His Way; 2005's Legacy, again with Jimmy Smith; and 2006's Organic Vibes. Live: The Authorized Bootleg followed in 2007 from Concord Records, while Joey D! appeared in 2008. In 2009, DeFrancesco paid tribute to one his idols with Finger Poppin: Celebrating the Music of Horace Silver. In 2010, DeFrancesco returned with the similarly minded tribute album Never Can Say Goodbye: The Music of Michael Jackson.
**********
WEBSITE DANNY GATTON
WEBSITE JOEY DEFRANCESCO
**********
TO THE TOP
**********
''RALENTLESS''
1994
62:42
**********
1 Fine (Danny Gatton) 04:19
2 Broadway (Billy Bird, Ray Henderson, Teddy McRae, Henri Woode) 06:10
3 Kindred Spirits (Danny Gatton) 07:46
4 The Chess Players (Wayne Shorter) 09:45
5 Gearheads (Joey DeFrancesco, Danny Gatton) 04:45
6 Blues On The Half Shell (A. W. Bullington) 06:53
7 The Pits (Danny Gatton) 11:49
8 Big Mo (Danny Gatton) 04:40
9 Well You Needn't (Thelonious Monk) 06:33
**********
Timm Biery/Drums
Joey DeFrancesco/Hammond B3
Danny Gatton/Guitar
John Previti/Bass Guitar
**********
REVIEW/AMG
Scott Yanow
This was a logical matchup. Danny Gatton was a high-powered and very versatile guitarist who could play virtually any modern style. His tonal distortions and use of feedback were impressive but he could also swing as hard as anyone around. The same could be said of organist Joey DeFrancesco and, together with bassist John Previti and drummer Timm Biery, the lead voices romp on a variety of fairly basic material with lots of blues and a few standards. Although no new revelations are offered, the joyful chancetaking of Danny Gatton kept the music from ever becoming predictable or too relaxed; he certainly challenges DeFrancesco throughout this set.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG/DANNY GATTON
Steve Huey
Guitar virtuoso Danny Gatton was known for the incredibly wide stylistic range of his playing; based in rockabilly, Gatton's musical vocabulary included R&B, pop, country, rock, and jazz, all of which he could play effectively. Gatton began playing at age nine, joining his first band, the Lancers, three years later. In 1960, Gatton pursued a jazz direction when he joined the Offbeats, where pianist/organist Dick Heintze proved to be one of Gatton's biggest influences. The band broke up four years later, and Gatton moved to Nashville to get into session work; there he met Roy Buchanan, who briefly became his roommate and taught him more about his instrument of choice. Eventually, Gatton built a reputation as a top-notch guitarist around his native Washington, D.C., area through his club performances. He recorded an album with his backing band the Fat Boys titled American Music in 1975 and followed it with Redneck Jazz in 1978. The band on the latter featured steel guitarist Buddy Emmons, drummer Dave Elliott, and eventual longtime cohorts Evan Johns on vocals and rhythm guitar and John Previti on bass.
Gatton's albums led to offers from other musicians to join their bands. Lowell George extended an invitation after leaving Little Feat, but was found dead two days later. Gatton wound up touring with country singer Roger Miller and rockabilly artist Robert Gordon, giving him national exposure and a growing cult among guitar fans, who traded bootlegs of Gatton concerts. Gatton returned to Washington, D.C., to be near his friends and family while playing up and down the East Coast with several bands and doing session work. When Gatton purchased an old farmhouse in need of expensive renovations in 1988, he decided to pursue his music career more seriously. He released his first solo album since 1978 the next year, Unfinished Business, which drew notices from several guitar-oriented magazines as well as Rolling Stone. Elektra Records signed him during the summer, and he made his major-label debut in 1991 with the tremendously varied instrumental album 88 Elmira St. 1992 saw Gatton's first straight-ahead jazz album, New York Stories, recorded for none other than Blue Note. Gatton toured the nation solo for the first time in 1993 in support of Cruisin' Deuces, but its lack of success, coupled with the departure of A&R man Howard Thompson from Elektra, spelled the end of Gatton's association with the label. Gatton returned to session work to pay the bills, but sustained a further blow when rhythm guitarist Billy Windsor died of a heart attack early in 1994. Gatton collaborated with organ virtuoso Joey DeFrancesco on Relentless in May and toured Europe during the summer. Sadly, on October 4, 1994, Gatton locked himself in his garage and shot himself. He left behind no explanation.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG/JOEY DEFRANCESCO
Steve Huey
The music of Joey DeFrancesco -- an important force in the revival of the Hammond B-3 organ as a jazz instrument -- runs the gamut from soul-jazz and bluesy grooves à la Jimmy Smith to hard bop to the more advanced modal style of Coltrane disciple Larry Young. Born in Springfield, PA (near Philadelphia), on April 10, 1971, DeFrancesco was the son of another Philly-area jazz organist, Papa John DeFrancesco, and the grandson of multi-instrumentalist Joe DeFrancesco, who worked with the Dorsey Brothers. He began playing piano at age four and quickly switched to his father's instrument, preferring the sound of the Hammond B-3 over the modern synthesizers that had become the dominant alternative to piano. He began sitting in at his father's club gigs around age six; by age ten, he was performing paying gigs on the weekends and sitting in with artists like Jack McDuff and Groove Holmes.
DeFrancesco continued to study through high school, drawing from Philadelphia's rich jazz organ heritage and the numerous veteran players who still found work on the city's club scene. At 16, he was the first recipient of the Philadelphia Jazz Society's McCoy Tyner Scholarship, and was also a finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition. He met Miles Davis on a local television show and impressed the trumpeter enough that DeFrancesco was invited on tour following his high-school graduation in 1988.
After appearing on the well-received Live Around the World and Amandla albums, DeFrancesco scored a solo deal with Columbia and released his debut as a leader, All of Me, in 1989. Four more Columbia albums followed (Where Were You?, Part III, Reboppin', Live at the Five Spot), one per year, and DeFrancesco's reputation grew steadily, helped by the fact that as a virtuosic yet vintage-style organist, he was something of an anomaly on the early-'90s jazz scene. His arrival presaged -- and, in fact, helped kick-start -- a renewal of interest in organ jazz of all stripes, and he remained one of the most versatile and advanced of the new breed of players; inspired by Davis, he even picked up the trumpet as a second instrument.
After parting ways with Columbia, DeFrancesco recorded sets for Muse and Big Mo, and began working extensively with guitarist John McLaughlin. His appearance on 1994's After the Rain and his subsequent international tour with McLaughlin brought him to a whole new audience. He spent the next few years working mostly as a sideman, however, and returned to the studio under his own name in 1998, recording All or Nothing at All for Big Mo; he also appeared with his father on All in the Family for High Note. The following year brought The Champ, a tribute to Jimmy Smith (also on High Note), and a new record deal with Concord Jazz, which kicked off with the Mafia movie soundtrack tribute Goodfellas.
DeFrancesco finally teamed up with longtime hero Jimmy Smith for 2000's Incredible!, and issued the Concord follow-up Singin' and Swingin' in 2001, which spotlighted his easygoing vocals. In the meantime, he also continued to record sessions for High Note, including the sequel The Champ: Round 2 (2000) and another tribute to one of his influences, The Philadelphia Connection: A Tribute to Don Patterson (2002). Always a busy and prolific artist, DeFrancesco released five albums in the next five years: 2003's Falling in Love Again, which featured jazz singer Joe Doggs; 2004's Plays Sinatra His Way; 2005's Legacy, again with Jimmy Smith; and 2006's Organic Vibes. Live: The Authorized Bootleg followed in 2007 from Concord Records, while Joey D! appeared in 2008. In 2009, DeFrancesco paid tribute to one his idols with Finger Poppin: Celebrating the Music of Horace Silver. In 2010, DeFrancesco returned with the similarly minded tribute album Never Can Say Goodbye: The Music of Michael Jackson.
**********
WEBSITE DANNY GATTON
WEBSITE JOEY DEFRANCESCO
**********
TO THE TOP
**********
