Organist De Francesco Takes Command at Bakery

The Hammond electric organ is one of the monster instruments of jazz. Capable of an enormous array of sounds ranging from massive orchestral textures to the tiniest single line, it is an instrument that demands an expansive musical imagination.

And, in Joey De Francesco, it has found one of its rare masters. De Francesco, who won’t turn 30 until next year, is a large, magisterial-looking young man.

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Seated before his Hammond keyboard at the Jazz Bakery on Wednesday night, he was very much in command, his girth and self-confident manner providing precisely the sort of authoritative presence that the instrument requires.

De Francesco’s performance, however, was based on a lot more than simple presence. Despite his youth, he has been playing organ since he was 6, and his father--Pappa John De Francesco--was himself a Hammond player.

That may explain the younger De Francesco’s affection for standards and his strikingly mature understanding of their subtleties.

Seated center stage at the Bakery, flanked by guitarist RonEschete and drummer Byron Landham, De Francesco kicked off his opening set with a medium-groove romp through “The Masquerade Is Over.” His style mixed surging waves of sound with crisp, driving bop-tinged lines supported by a driving bass.

Eschete, replacing De Francesco’s regular guitarist Paul Bollenback (who was unavailable for the week), was a sympathetic partner, especially on the middle-tempo numbers.

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But when De Francesco dug into a brutally up-tempo version of “Lover,” it was difficult, even for a player with Eschete’s skills, to keep pace.

No problem for De Francesco, however, who seemed to revel in the sheer musical joy of cruising across the rapidly unfolding rhythm.

As an added bonus, he tossed in a surprisingly effective vocal on “You Go to My Head,” and concluded with a version of “One Mint Julep” that called up images of jazz-organ trios in late-night bistros.

It was a particularly effective climax for a set from one of the instrument’s most impressive young practitioners.

* The Joey De Francesco Trio at the Jazz Bakery through Sunday. 3233 Helms Ave., Culver City. (310) 271-9039. $20 admission. Today and Saturday at 8 and 9:30 p.m., and Sunday at 7 and 8:30 p.m.