For the enslaved Africans, music – rhythm in particular – became a tool of communication about their conditions. Later, it laid the foundation for spirituals and gospel songs.

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with music critic Nate Chinen about the legacy of iconic jazz Hammond organ player Joey DeFrancesco, who died on Thursday. The jazz world has lost its preeminent specialist of ...

Jazz Times once hailed Joey DeFrancesco as "the best B3 player on the planet." For obvious reasons. DeFrancesco died Thursday. He was 51. His label Mack Avenue confirmed the news on its website and ...

The Hammond organ – it's heavy, it's hard to move, you basically become a lifelong van owner if you play one, and I've often said, "If your back doesn't hurt – it doesn't sound right." But I have to ...

The Hammond Organ. Ask anyone who has played one on the club scene and they'll tell you horror stories about jacking the B3 up fire escapes or removing doorframes; not to mention the instrument's ...

Tributes are pouring in for Lonnie Smith, the Hammond B-3 organ virtuoso who has died at the age of 79. The NEA Jazz Master of 2017 passed away in his home in Florida from pulmonary fibrosis, his ...

J. Spencer Hammond, former longtime minister of music, organist and choir director at Douglas Memorial Community Church who also taught music in the city public schools for more than three decades, ...

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with music critic Nate Chinen about the legacy of iconic jazz Hammond organ player Joey DeFrancesco, who died on Thursday. Remembering Joey DeFrancesco, pioneering Hammond ...

The jazz world has lost its preeminent specialist of the Hammond organ. Joey DeFrancesco turned heads for decades, starting with his major label debut at age 17. (SOUNDBITE OF HAMMOND ORGAN PLAYING) ...