The jazz world suffered a shocking blow last Thursday when multi-instrumentalist bandleader Joey DeFrancesco died at the age of 51.<\/p>\n
I’ve read a dozen articles about Joey’s life and death but still haven’t found one that details the cause of the latter. I know it was unexpected because…<\/p>\n
I saw Joey play a gig two weeks ago.<\/p>\n
Friday’s episode of\u00a0Math and Musings<\/em> will give a greater description of the show (and of the man), but yeah, I saw Joey and his trio play on August 13 at Keystone Korner in Baltimore. Not a hint of declining health or anything like that–the exact opposite as a matter of fact. Proof? I knew Joey was a virtuoso on the trumpet in addition to his “main” instrument (organ), so imagine my surprise when I saw him pick up a tenor saxophone and blow like Dexter Gordon. I understand he “picked it up recently.” Not exactly the actions of someone who knew he was near the end.<\/p>\n RIP, Joey DeFrancesco, and all the best to his family. The jazz world has now a giant Hammond B3-sized hole that’s going to be tough to fill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The jazz world suffered a shocking blow last Thursday when multi-instrumentalist bandleader Joey DeFrancesco died at the age of 51. I’ve read a dozen articles about Joey’s life and death but still haven’t found one that details the cause of … Continue reading