Obituary, Joey DeFrancesco (1971-2022)

The American composer and multi-instrumentalist Joey DeFrancesco, known for his work in re-introducing the organ in contemporary jazz, has died aged 51. Born in Pennsylvania, 1971, to a musical family, DeFrancesco would continue the family lineage and be the fourth generation of jazz musicians; Joey was named after his grandfather, saxophonist and clarinettist Joseph DeFrancesco, while his father “Papa” John DeFrancesco was also an organist who was a recipient of the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame’s ‘Living Legend’ award in 2013. This early start and creative environment quickly fostered his creativity, and by the age of just 10 he was a regular at a Philadelphia jazz club alongside the likes of Hank Mobley and Philly Joe Jones, even playing opening sets for Wynton Marsalis and B.B. King.

DeFrancesco recorded over 30 albums under his own name during his lifetime – even winning the DownBeat Critics Poll eleven times over – on top of innumerable sideman gigs including big-name jazzmen like Miles Davis and John McLaughlin. Though much of his legacy as an instrumentalist often concerns his organ playing, which remained his main instrument, DeFrancesco was also an impressive saxophonist and trumpet player, and even performed as a singer from around 2018. He recorded prolifically even in the last few years of his life, with releases including 2018’s You’re Driving Me Crazy (a collaboration with Van Morrison), the spiritually-tinged In the Key of the Universe and just last year releasing More Music. DeFrancesco is survived by his wife and manager Gloria, and their two children.

Some of our favourite Joey DeFrancesco recordings...

Browse all of our Joey DeFrancesco recordings...