PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The jazz world was stunned last week, when one of its most celebrated musicians, Joey DeFrancesco, died at the age of 51. DeFrancesco was an international legend on the jazz organ — and a product of Philadelphia.
DeFrancesco signed his first record contract at 16. He'd already been playing jazz on a Hammond organ for 12 years. Born and raised in Delaware County, he graduated from Philadelphia's High School for Creative and Performing Arts and attended Settlement Music School, where journalist Gene Seymour watched him perform in the '80s.
"I was astonished especially because Joey was 15," recalled Seymour. "He was kind of a little imp, just swinging hard on the piano with the assurance of an adult and I just thought, 'What is this?' It was quite an encounter."
Seymour said DeFrancesco only got better as he matured. "He was, by far, the jazz organist of his generation," he said.
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DeFrancesco played several instruments and also sang, but the organ was in his blood. His grandfather and father, "Papa" John DeFrancesco, both played jazz on Hammonds. In a 2011 interview, DeFrancesco talked about his place in the jazz world.
"I feel very honored and I feel responsible that I have to keep going and doing what I'm doing and keep the legacy going," he said.
DeFrancesco died on August 25. The cause of death was not disclosed.