One of my first exposures to the Jazz idiom was at sixteen or seventeen years old and I heard a performance of Wendel Byrd I believe at the "Eljor" in Schenectady. I was hooked Wendell mas a showman of considerable talent who used his considerable Hammond B3 ability to considerable effect. He often played "Ebb Tide" his signature piece some times with his feet. He would stick match books in the keys and sustain chords during drum solos and dance with the audience. It was a carnival and I attended hundreds of performances and came to know Wendel well. Well, that was the beginning of my association ship with the Hammond B3 Organ as I started helping Wendell move from club to club. There was "Kittles" on S. Swan Street, and "The Towpath" on Broadway in Albany and in Schenectady the "Eljor" was a regular. There was "Birdland" in Utica and the Pithon in "Rochester".
As a child I had worked on a farm and it came to me on occasion when something had to be moved. Now moving a Hammond B3 with Leslie Sound cabinet is no small task and helping Wendell I realized a need for an appropriate moving device for this instrument. There were numerous artists that had the same problem playing the circuit of upstate New York clubs There was Wendel, Butch Strong, Jimmy Smith, Jimmy Hammond Smith, Jack McDuff, ....... many more all needing to move their B3 unharmed. Well this was the early 60's and even a station wagon would not fit this bohemoth. In order to solve the problem I bought a 1956 Cadillac Hearse and started moving instrument for musicians. It was through this activity I came to know many musicians and people associated with the music business.
The Hammond B3 is an instrument of note. It can create intensity like no other instrument. For this reason control of the dynamic is essential with this instrument as you could bowl over a guitar player rendering him inaudible quite easily. I was always amazed how Kenny Burrell and organists coexisted. Despite this organists and guitarist cooperated on the music scene of the small club environment of the 1960's being the affordable alternative. Many organists have developed a very good understanding of the dynamic such as Eddy Louiss. And of course Jimmy Smith, Joey DeFranchesc(sic)........ Others
I'le never forget a performance of Wendel Byrd with a cross eyed little lady named Pat Chappel (circa 1963 Eljor Schenectady) she was a Potsdam Student and just happend to sit in. Probable one of the most memorable vocal performances of my recollection. I ran into her in latter years and she was under a married name I cant remember.
I lived in Utica for a period in the 1960's. Dickie Frank's "Birdland" was the go to spot for Jazz in Utica. The venue usually had a B3 trio with maybe a soloist.
About the accident