Organ masters Dr. Lonnie Smith and John Medeski, alongside Philly-based talents of Trudy Pitts and Joey DeFrancesco perform a Jazz Organ Jam at the Kimmel Center on Friday, April 30, 2010 at 8pm.   Together, the group provides a collaborative jazz improvisational performance blending gospel, soul and classical music inspired translations on stage with the king of instruments.

Tickets for the Jazz Organ Jam are available from $26 to $64 and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelcenter.org, or at the Kimmel Center box office open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply.) For group sales call 215-790-5883.

A limited number of $10 community rush tickets will be available for this performance. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Kimmel Center box office beginning at 5:30pm. Limit one ticket per person.

Organ master Dr. Lonnie Smith has more than five decades of experience with over 70 album recordings to his name.  A self-schooled organist exposed to gospel, blues, and jazz at an early age, Smith was discovered while performing in The Pine Grill, a jazz venue in Buffalo, New York, and soon moved to New York City to perform regularly in George Benson’s Quartet.  Smith is known for the seminal jazz album, Alligator Boogaloo (Blue Note Record), and for his collaborations with renowned artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Lovano, and Grover Washington Jr., among others. Named the “Top Organist of 1969” by Downbeat Magazine, more recently the Jazz Journalist Association has distinguished him as “Organ Keyboardist of the Year” in 2003, 2004, and 2005.  One of his more recent recordings, Boogaloo to Beck, interprets the popular hits of pop star Beck on the organ for contemporary audiences to enjoy.

Philadelphia native Joey DeFrancesco was born in the nearby town of Springfield , Pa., influenced by his father’s musical talent as the well known organist “Papa John” DeFrancesco. At 16 years-old, he was the first recipient of the Philadelphia Jazz Society’s McCoy Tyner Scholarship, and was invited to tour with him after his high school graduation in 1988.  In 1989, Columbia Records released DeFrancesco’s debut album, All of Me.  Through the years, DeFrancesco has released a prolific amount of collaborative recordings including Falling in Love Again featuring Joe Doggs (Joe Pesci) in 2003; Legacy featuring Jimmy Smith in 2005; Organic Vibes featuring Bobby Hutcherson in 2006; and Live: The Authorized Bootleg with special guest George Coleman in 2007.  His most recent album, Snapshot, was released in October 2009.  A Downbeat's Critics and Readers Poll favorite, he has consecutively been selected as the top jazz organist since 2003.

Organist Trudy Pitts is also a Philadelphia native and highly trained musician who studied at Philadelphia’s Musical Academy, Temple University, and The Julliard School.  In 1967 the Boston Globe pronounced her a rising jazz organ star. As she continued to hone her craft through the years and develop a unique style all her own, collaborations ensued with Willis Jackson, Pat Martino, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk in various recorded albums.  Pitts is currently a faculty member at the University of the Arts.  She was the first artist to perform on the newly inaugurated Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ at the Kimmel Center in 2006, opening for jazz legend Nancy Wilson.

Taught by his father to play blues and jazz on the piano before he could walk, it is no wonder John Medeski is as successful as he is today.  After attending the New England Conservatory in Boston, Medeski is schooled to perform not only on the piano, but the keyboard and organ as well. He has created the score for the film Day on Fire and has collaborated with artists such as pop artist k.d. lang, opera crooner Rufus Wainwright, punk godfather Iggy Pop, and gospel singers Blind Boys of Alabama, among others.  When he is not performing solo, he is part of the band Medeski, Martin, and Wood, a trio with their own record label, Indirecto Records.

Kimmel Center Presents 2009/10 Season is sponsored by Citi. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents.

Free at the Kimmel programming and subsidized tickets offered to the community and social service groups for $10 are made possible through the Wachovia Gateway to the Arts Community Access Program, supported by a generous grant from the Wachovia Foundation.

The Kimmel Center is a recipient of partnership funding through the nationally recognized PNC "Grow Up Great" initiative, a ten-year, $100 million investment preparing children for success in school and life. Funding gives support to the Kimmel Center 's early childhood program "Bop and Swing," an arts program for children 1-5 years old, designed to promote an appreciation for American culture.

KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS SPONSORED BY CITI

Friday, April 30, 2010 | 8pm

Verizon Hall

Jazz Organ Jam

Dr. Lonnie Smith

Joey DeFrancesco

Trudy Pitts

John Medeski