Joey DeFrancesco Quartet
Three time Grammy® nominee, Master of the Jazz Organ, Trumpeter & Vocalist, Joey DeFrancesco, along with musicians Mike Boone, Jason Brown, & Dan Wilson offer a hard-driving performance that swings straight ahead.
A prodigious talent at an early age, Joey began taking a strong interest in the organ. At sixteen he signed an exclusive recording contract with Columbia Records, releasing his first record "All Of Me" at seventeen. This record was single handedly responsible for the great resurgence of the Hammond sound in popular music. Also in his seventeenth year, he was called on by the great Miles Davis to join his band, and toured Europe. It was at that time that Joey, inspired by Miles’s sound, picked up the trumpet & started playing. At eighteen, Joey began touring with his own quartet. At twenty-two, John McLaughlin called him along with drummer Dennis Chambers, to form the group the "Free Spirits". Joey has been around the world and back dozens of times with his own bands, he has also played and recorded with some of the greatest musicians in the world such as, Ray Charles, David Sanborn, Arturo Sandoval, Benny Golson, James Moody, Elvin Jones, Jimmy Cobb, George Benson, John Scofield, and many more. He has won the Down Beat Critics poll nine times & the Readers poll ever year since 2005 along with countless Jazz Journalist & other Jazz awards. In 2004 Joey was nominated for a Grammy for his record "Falling In Love Again", in 2010 for “Never Can Say Goodbye”, and again in 2014 for “Enjoy the Vew”. Currently, Joey continues to tour with his own group, and other all-star projects.
The backbone of countless gigs, one of the mainstays of the Philly jazz scene, Mike Boone has played bass with Buddy Rich, Clark Terry, Mose Allison, Shirley Scott, Mickey Roker, and Sonny Rollins over the years. Mike is known throughout the jazz world for his undeniable solid wide groove.
New York based drummer, Jason Brown, has been a driving force behind major artists since the early days of his career. A graduate of Oberlin Conservatory, Ohio; Brown learned his trade under the tutelage of Billy Hart. For seven years he toured and recorded with Grammy nominated vocalist & composer, Carmen Lundy. He has also worked with numerous international artists such as Pat Martino, Lizz Wright, Cedar Walton, Wayne Escoffery, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Amina Figarova. Jason’s sensitivity, explosiveness & hard driving sense of swing are what make him the perfect match for Joey D.
Dan Wilson’s playing encompasses all the fire, soul & technique of the jazz guitar greats that have preceded him. Over the years he has enjoyed the honor of sharing the stage with many jazz greats including Russell Malone, Les Mcann, Christian McBride, Eric Marienthal and Dave Stryker. Dan also teaches jazz guitar and improvisation at Cuyahoga Community College in Ohio. 20
This group is a powerhouse of astute jazz musicians, delivering non stop straight ahead jazz, blues infused melodies, hard swinging bop, and intricate solo passages, that leave jazz audiences in awe, thoroughly satisfied.