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By Larry, April 14, 2019 9:13 am

Little Richie Varola

Listen/Download – Little Richie Varola – Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf MP3

Greetings all.

Today’s feature is one of my all time favorite, obscure Hammond organ burners.

Little Richie Varola did almost all of his recorded work – save the album you see above – as the organist for Louis Prima.

Born in central Pennsylvania (what was in the water in PA that produced so many Hammond players?), Varola joined up with Prima in the 1960s after a starting up playing in the lounges of Atlantic City and Las Vegas.

He was a keyboard prodigy, capable of lightning-fast speed and showmanship.

He recorded his sole LP as a solo artist in 1968 for the Verve label, backed by Sam Butera and the Witnesses.

The album was a combination of popular organ features like ‘Walk On the Wild Side’ and today’s selection ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’, standards and contemporary pop like Tom Jones’s ‘It’s Not Unusual’.

‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’ was first recorded by Jimmy Smith in 1964 and quickly became something of a Hammond standard, being recorded by James Brown, Graham Bond, the Dynamics, The Pieces of Eight and even the Buckinghams.

Varola’s version of ‘Who’s Afraid…’ starts out with a quote from the James Bond theme, storming into a 100MPH version of the song with unbelievable keyboard work by Varola.

His speed and precision on the Hammond is remarkable and it’s not hard to see why Butera recruited him for Prima’s band.

Varola played on a couple of Louis Prima albums before leaving the group in 1972.

He was apparently working toward a jazz-rock fusion sound when he was killed in a car accident in 1974 at the age of 30.

I can only imagine what he might have been capable of musically had he lived.

As far as I can tell his album has never been reissued, so if you dig the sound you’ll have to find yourself an original copy.

I hope you dig the sounds and I’ll see you all next week.

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

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By Larry, January 20, 2019 2:16 pm

Joe Johnson and his Hammond

Listen/Download – Joe Johnson Trio – Son of Ice Bag MP3

Greetings all.

I hope the new week finds you well.

The track I bring you today is from what most would consider a private press album (as far a I can tell the ‘label’ never issued anything else).

The performer is organist Joe Johnson, and the track, ‘Son of Ice Bag’ appears on the album ‘Jazz In Jersey’.

I can’t find any information to indicate that Johnson ever recorded anything else, under how own name, or as a sideman.

‘Jazz In Jersey’ appears to have been released in 1973, and while Johnson and most of the sidemen listed are obscure, the guitarist, Thornell Schwartz spent a lot of time recording with big name organists like Jimmy Smith, Johnny Hammond Smith and Larry Young.

The track, ‘Son of Ice Bag’ was written and first released by Hugh Masekela in 1967. It was covered a few years later by Lonnie Smith.

Johnson aquits himself nicely, and the arrangement, which hews pretty closely to the Lonnie Smith take, is cool.

I wish I knew more about Johnson. The record – despite the title – was recorded in Philadelphia, and the liner notes mention that he received an award in Philadelphia. They also say he worked with Lou Donaldson and Houston Person, but I can’t find any information to suggest that he recorded with either of them. My suspicion is that he was another working musician, probably grinding it out in night clubs and bars but never making the connection in the studios.

I hope you dig the sounds, and if you have any info on Joe Johnson, please drop me a line.

Also, make sure to follow Funky16Corners on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keep the faith

Larry

________________________________________________

If you dig what we do here or over at Funky16Corners, please consider clicking on the Patreon link and throwing something into the yearly operating budget! Do it and we’ll send you some groovy Funky16Corners Radio Network (and related) stickers!

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