Doodlin' with Pete Fallico April 1996

Jeff Palmer

Nestled in New York's Cherry Valley, just a short ride from the Baseball Hall of Fame, lives a musician who eats, sleeps, and beathes Jazz organ. Poised for the next century, this Flash Gordon of the Mothership Hammond explores the outer limits of Jazz organ fearlessly. Jeff Palmer's lifestle might be less than modern, but his musical ideas are futuristic and visionary. As he once told me, "I prefer to dwell in Tomorrowland." He is currently enjoying the release of his seventh recording in a series that claims to possess uniquely different phases. Titled Island Universe, this latest session brings together the talents of guitarist John Abercrombie, saxist Arthur Blythe, and drummer Rashied Ali.

Jeff feels this to be his best effort yet. "An island universe is an alternative galaxy, and that is kind of an idea that I had about the music on this record...It's not like any other organ record...not like a Larry Young or Jimmy Smith...It doesn't have anything to do with that...It's some other shit for later."

The "later" that Jeff refers to may be sooner than we think, as the Hammond organ sound is being rediscovered by youthful samplers and patchers who swirl it into an acid Jazz mix that may or may not endure as time goes by. Jeff's authentic attempt to harness the force and sustaining power of the original tone-wheel Hammond sound and use it as a vehicle for new and exciting musical ideas is an intriguing notion, to say the least.

Jeff first tasted the professional side of music when, at the age of nine, he was given money for playing his accordion. His Sicilian-born father was a professional musician who encouraged him to carry on a tradition."I could have had a career playing accordion, but when I was thirteen I heard a Jimmy Smith record and said, 'I think I'm going to get with that!'" Jeff thought for a moment about becoming a doctor but quickly gave up the idea for the bandstand.

The process by which an indicidual learns how to play Jazz organ involves a tremendous amount of listening and self-instruction. Wild Bill Davis had no teacher, nor did Jimmy Smith. Other Jazz organists will relate how their lessons came from the University of the Street and incidental tutelage from mentors. Such was the case with Jeff Palmer as he set out to conquer the beast. Gifted with musical talent and filled with passion for the Hammond sound, he taught himself the basics and played the chitlin' circuit as a journeyman, paying his dues many times over.

Jeff now expresses a valid concern for the musical institutions of our land, which get the tuition from students but don't have the intuition to offer course work to those who might be interested in this uniquely American instrument. "I'm working on a project right now," says Jeff, "about going over to Berklee College of Music in Boston. I have this idea about implementing a Jazz organ adjunct class to the curriculum which will involve all these younger students and acquaint them with the Hammond organ."

Jeff's point is well taken considering the impact the organ bas made in jazz without the assistance of formal instruction or even structured support from our music education programs. "Sooner or later these students will be getting in some band where there will be a B-3, and it would be nice, since they're paying their twenty-four thousand at school, if they had some sort of exposure to this ax."

Although his musical ideas stretch forward, he remains determined to play the Hammond organ with traditional gusto as evidenced by this advice to new enthusiasts: "When you get the organ, you get the bass pedals so you can play the instrument in its entirety. That method has been set up in a tradition, and so for the sound of the Hazz organ you have to work the machine so that it comes back at you, because it's basically a cold ax and you've got to give it something for it to return."

Surrounding himself with true improvisers is extremely important to Jeff, although he admits he knows of no other Jazz organist who has thus far released a solo recording of original music as he did in his 1982 release, Outerlimits. Rhetorically he asks: 'There are Jazz organists out there, but I would like to know who's the greatest thinker on this machine. Who is it that does things that the others do no do? Who is that person?"

Jeff masks his obvious knowledge of other players and even the history of Jazz organ y referring only to the future. "We're not going to go backward; we're dealing with the future; we're trying to take the Hammond organ to the twenty-first century, and so these are the things that I am concerned with and that I am trying to science out." One track from his newest recording may say it all: "Warrior Not Worrier." This, to me, defines Jeff's intentions as a musician as he accepts his responsibility to create and leaves the past alone.

"Jazz musicians are in charge of giving audiences climaxes," he claims, "and they do it intuitively, and they're also in charge of giving the audience a glimpse into the future...[Audiences] want your blood, and you have to be good at it." In my review of his sixth recording, Shades of the Pine, I felt Jeff offered "some ferocious Hammond organ blues heard in the context of a futuristic groove." His sound ran deeply through the blues but always managed to redefine itself in each piece. "I just think that, at this point, it's a little late to try and record pieces that have been done by other people, and so I think what is required for the future is more original thought...and that has been one of the snags in Jazz organ playing. There hasn't been enough original thought...It also has to do with the fact that the machine has only been in Jazz for fifty-seven years, so there has been a constituency of organists who hove relied on playing certain types of music and not thinking about other types...and so that has been my role in all of this...to try and implement some other stuff that perhaps has not been looked at. I've been successful at doing that."

Jeff Palmer's commercial effect on Jazz organ has been gradual, but I predict it will soon pour like lava from a volcano. There's substance to his musical projections that have a basis in cohesive ensemble work unlike many of the thinly produced Jazz organ forays of acid Jazzers.

"I try to hone in on my work...refining it and getting it to the point where I', just going to play enough within each piece because the overall ensemble work is what I', looking at. I don't want the solo attention of a musical piece to be focused on me. The strength of my thing is a band sound."

If you've been able to capture all seven of Jeff's recordings, you've enhanced your collection remarkably. A continuum does exist for Jazz organ, and it will, in fact, extend into the next century as long as honest efforts are made by players like Jeff Palmer.

by Pete Fallico

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Copyright Jazz Now, April 1996 edition, all rights reserved
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Jeff Palmer
Nestled in New York's Cherry Valley, just a short ride from the Baseball Hall of Fame, lives a musician who eats, sleeps, and beathes Jazz organ. Poised for the next century, this Flash Gordon of the Mothership Hammond explores the outer limits of Jazz organ fearlessly. Jeff Palmer's lifestle might be less than modern, but his musical ideas are futuristic and visionary. As he once told me, "I prefer to dwell in Tomorrowland." He is currently enjoying the release of his seventh recording in a series that claims to possess uniquely different phases. Titled Island Universe, this latest session brings together the talents of guitarist John Abercrombie, saxist Arthur Blythe, and drummer Rashied Ali.
	Jeff feels this to be his best effort yet. "An island universe is an alternative galaxy, and that is kind of an idea that I had about the music on this record...It's not like any other organ record...not like a Larry Young or Jimmy Smith...It doesn't have anything to do with that...It's some other shit for later."
The "later" that Jeff refers to may be sooner than we think, as the Hammond organ sound is being rediscovered by youthful samplers and patchers who swirl it into an acid Jazz mix that may or may not endure as time goes by. Jeff's authentic attempt to harness the force and sustaining power of the original tone-wheel Hammond sound and use it as a vehicle for new and exciting musical ideas is an intriguing notion, to say the least.
	Jeff first tasted the professional side of music when, at the age of nine, he was given money for playing his accordion. His Sicilian-born father was a professional musician who encouraged him to carry on a tradition."I could have had a career playing accordion, but when I was thirteen I heard a Jimmy Smith record and said, 'I think I'm going to get with that!'" Jeff thought for a moment about becoming a doctor but quickly gave up the idea for the bandstand.
The process by which an indicidual learns how to play Jazz organ involves a tremendous amount of listening and self-instruction. Wild Bill Davis had no teacher, nor did Jimmy Smith. Other Jazz organists will relate how their lessons came from the University of the Street and incidental tutelage from mentors. Such was the case with Jeff Palmer as he set out to conquer the beast. Gifted with musical talent and filled with passion for the Hammond sound, he taught himself the basics and played the chitlin' circuit as a journeyman, paying his dues many times over.
	Jeff now expresses a valid concern for the musical institutions of our land, which get the tuition from students but don't have the intuition to offer course work to those who might be interested in this uniquely American instrument. "I'm working on a project right now," says Jeff, "about going over to Berklee College of Music in Boston. I have this idea about implementing a Jazz organ adjunct class to the curriculum which will involve all these younger students and acquaint them with the Hammond organ."
Jeff's point is well taken considering the impact the organ bas made in jazz without the assistance of formal instruction or even structured support from our music education programs. "Sooner or later these students will be getting in some band where there will be a B-3, and it would be nice, since they're paying their twenty-four thousand at school, if they had some sort of exposure to this ax."
	Although his musical ideas stretch forward, he remains determined to play the Hammond organ with traditional gusto as evidenced by this advice to new enthusiasts: "When you get the organ, you get the bass pedals so you can play the instrument in its entirety. That method has been set up in a tradition, and so for the sound of the Hazz organ you have to work the machine so that it comes back at you, because it's basically a cold ax and you've got to give it something for it to return."
Surrounding himself with true improvisers is extremely important to Jeff, although he admits he knows of no other Jazz organist who has thus far released a solo recording of original music as he did in his 1982 release, Outerlimits. Rhetorically he asks: 'There are Jazz organists out there, but I would like to know who's the greatest thinker on this machine. Who is it that does things that the others do no do? Who is that person?"
	Jeff masks his obvious knowledge of other players and even the history of Jazz organ y referring only to the future. "We're not going to go backward; we're dealing with the future; we're trying to take the Hammond organ to the twenty-first century, and so these are the things that I am concerned with and that I am trying to science out." One track from his newest recording may say it all: "Warrior Not Worrier." This, to me, defines Jeff's intentions as a musician as he accepts his responsibility to create and leaves the past alone.
"Jazz musicians are in charge of giving audiences climaxes," he claims, "and they do it intuitively, and they're also in charge of giving the audience a glimpse into the future...[Audiences] want your blood, and you have to be good at it." In my review of his sixth recording, Shades of the Pine, I felt Jeff offered "some ferocious Hammond organ blues heard in the context of a futuristic groove." His sound ran deeply through the blues but always managed to redefine itself in each piece. "I just think that, at this point, it's a little late to try and record pieces that have been done by other people, and so I think what is required for the future is more original thought...and that has been one of the snags in Jazz organ playing. There hasn't been enough original thought...It also has to do with the fact that the machine has only been in Jazz for fifty-seven years, so there has been a constituency of organists who hove relied on playing certain types of music and not thinking about other types...and so that has been my role in all of this...to try and implement some other stuff that perhaps has not been looked at. I've been successful at doing that."
	Jeff Palmer's commercial effect on Jazz organ has been gradual, but I predict it will soon pour like lava from a volcano. There's substance to his musical projections that have a basis in cohesive ensemble work unlike many of the thinly produced Jazz organ forays of acid Jazzers.
"I try to hone in on my work...refining it and getting it to the point where I', just going to play enough within each piece because the overall ensemble work is what I', looking at. I don't want the solo attention of a musical piece to be focused on me. The strength of my thing is a band sound."
	If you've been able to capture all seven of Jeff's recordings, you've enhanced your collection remarkably. A continuum does exist for Jazz organ, and it will, in fact, extend into the next century as long as honest efforts are made by players like Jeff Palmer.
by Pete Fallico

	Back to Content Page Jazz Now Interactive Copyright Jazz Now, April 1996 edition, all rights reserved jazznow@sbcglobal.net