CatSynth

Dr. Lonnie Smith on a Hammond Sk2 organ at the Hammond-Suzuki booth at NAMM.

Once again, the sound quality isn’t that good given the noise in the hall (and the bonus commentary by others in the audience), but it gives a little taste of the performance. This is the “other pole” of my musical experience, with jazz and jam performance, and its always good to get back into it even for a moment.

This is a vintage late-1970s Yamaha electric organ that I played at a jam session yesterday evening. I am not sure of the exact model, but I think is a B40 from 1977.

Organs can be a bit of a challenge to play if one is trained on piano and synthesizer. Basically, I just try to find a few settings that work and stick with them. Nonetheless, it was a good session, with talented drummers including one out-of-town visitor. The only harmonic instruments were organ and bass guitar, so essentially we were just a giant rhythm section. And we were able to get some interesting rhythms, including a 6/4 version of John Coltraine’s Equinox, and an extended minor blues that moved freely among different rhythmic styles and pulses while maintaining a beat.

From TheRoyalChannel on YouTube, via matrixsynth:

“The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall listen to a “cat-organ” at the START Festival with Brian Blessed, Jools Holland and Alan Titchmarsh. Visit http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk and http://www.startuk.org to find out more.”

No real cats were harmed in this performance.

Another recent submission by Richard:

Gizmo poses atop a Hammond XB-2.

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