Listen to this week’s playlist on Youtube and Soundcloud.
It’s rare for one man to change the face of an instrument, and before he turned forty, but Joey DeFrancesco has been performing since he was a child, following a lineage of jazz musicians. A seasoned musician by his teen, having already shared the stage with Hank Mobley and Philly Joe Jones, DeFrancesco was truly honored when, at 17, Miles Davis asked him to join his touring band. Today, he is a Grammy-nominated artist with over 30 recordings as a leader and numerous collaborations with masters of modern jazz. On his new CD, “Trip Mode,” Joey continues his mastery of jazz organ as well as showcasing his exceptional musical versatility that includes piano, trumpeter and vocals. Along for the journey are DeFrancesco’s touring comrades, Dan Wilson on guitar, bassist Mike Boone and Jason Brown on drums.
Houston Person still remembers the day in 1950 that changed his life. A typical 16-year-old who sang in the high school choir and glee club, he was mostly interested in football and basketball. Then, Christmas morning, his parents gave him a surprise gift: a tenor saxophone. Several decades, hundreds of albums, and thousands of concerts later, his life and career remain centered around the tenor sax. Through all the different styles coursing through those decades, Person has been steadfast in his dedication to the soul-jazz genre. All of his trademarks are presents on his newest recording, “Something Personal.” With the phenomenal vibes of Steve Nelson and the top-flight rhythm section ably led by pianist John DiMartino, Person and Company caress the ballads with lush melodicism and swing heartily through the up-tempo pieces.
Also this week, drummer, composer and bandleader Kenneth Salters, who h
as become 
a fixture on Manhattan’s West Village independent jazz scene with his band Haven, presents his debut album as a leader, “Enter to Exit”; tenor saxophonist Doug Webb unveils his second release this year for Posi-Tone Records, “Back East”; and New York City-based B3 organ specialist Adam Scone documents his first twenty-years playing jazz and ballads with “I Scream Scone!”