Title
Recognizing and honoring the life and legacy of Joey DeFrancesco.
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WHEREAS, Joey DeFrancesco, raised in Philadelphia, was a legendary American multi-instrumentalist, composer, radio personality, and four-time Grammy Award-nominated artist; and
WHEREAS, Blending both traditional and modern musical forms, DeFrancesco was known for his distinctly unique sound which resonated with and reached large audiences; and
WHEREAS, Emerging during the 1980's, a period of decline for Organ jazz, DeFrancesco re-ignited the genre. "He has dominated the instrument and the field as no one of his generation has," says The Chicago Tribune; and
WHERAS, The four-time Grammy Award-nominated artist earned numerous Jazz Journalist Association awards and other accolades including induction into the inaugural Hammond Organ Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame in 2016. DeFrancesco also hosted a weekly program on SiriusXM Radio's Real Jazz channel titled "Organized"; and
WHEREAS, His musical roots stem from his father "Papa" John DeFrancesco, an organist himself, who exposed the younger DeFrancesco to the Philadelphia jazz scene from an early age; and
WHEREAS, DeFrancesco began attending the Settlement Music School at age 9 and was only 10 years old when he played his first professional gig at Gert's Cocktail Lounge on South Street; and
WHEREAS, He later attended the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts where he was the first of his peers to sign a record deal at the age of 17 with Columbia Records following his performance at the first annual Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition; and
WHEREAS, DeFrancesco became one of the youngest players in Miles Davis's ensemble while still a senior in high school; and
WHEREAS, DeFrancesco released more than thirty albums under his own name and recorded/toured with leading jazz performers such as Ray Charles, Van Morrison, Diana Krall, Nancy Wilson, George Benson, Jame...
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