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Burnin' On The Big Bad B-3 (The Historic Masters of Jazz Organ):
By Geoff X. Alexander with Robert L. Doerschuk
Keyboard Magazine
, 1989One of the strangest stories in jazz organ lore is that of Greg Hatza. Possessor of a fiery technique and a seemingly innate
feel for jazz phrasing, Hatza was auditioned by Sonny Stitt to fill in for the ailing Don Patterson. Though impressed, Stitt chose not to hire the young organist, and insisted instead that Hatza finish college
first. At that time, Hatza was 19 years old, and had been playing organ for only a year and a half.
There is a degree of poignancy to this episode, since Hatza was showing signs of genius on an instrument
that was already on its way out. One can draw parallels between him, clarinetist Buddy De Franco, and perhaps accordionist Art Van Damme -- each possibly the greatest jazz practitioner on his instrument, and each
undercut by the public's growing indifference to their instrument. Hatza has historical importance too, as one of the few white Americans to make a mark in jazz organ.
A piano student as a child, Hatza
became interested in the organ after hearing Ray Charles play one on disc. It was the music of Jimmy Smith that finally propelled him into the organ world; Smith's imprint would be clear in Hatza's playing for
years to come. For a decade Hatza played around Baltimore, often being chauffeured to gigs by his manager, former Baltimore Colt football great Lenny Moore. In his last days on the Hammond, he fronted a
Coltrane-oriented trio, playing free jazz in a style similar to that of Larry Young. By the early '70's, however, with audience interest in the organ dwindling, Hatza gave up the instrument and began performing on
a Farfisa piano -- "I couldn't afford a Rhodes," he confides. Today he teaches music in Baltimore, and leads a fusion group, Moon August, whose most recent album was released in April by Passport Jazz. |
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Tim Price
Eagles/Time
, 1995This is some simply incredible organ playing from Reading's own (and
very under-recorded Hammond B-3 organ giant) Greg Hatza. Hatza's style is very rooted, yet contains a highly personal feel and compositional bent. He is one of the true masters of the Hammond
groove.
His musical journey and musical purpose seem to be to extend the art of jazz organ beyond the framework of styles via some highly original lyrical right-hand lines and
cascading, angular shapes within his solos. His lines owe strong allegiance to bebop. Within that, he's developed a very personal incorporation of intervals, often playing chords and solo lines
with each other. Still paying tribute to the bag he's learned and came from (e.g., stop-time organ punches, gospel hues-and -cry cadences and a big dose of funky soul), Hatza is certainly one of jazz's
groove merchants.
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Geoffrey Himes
The Columbia Flier, 1997
"Lenny talked to my parents," Hatza recalls, "and asked if I could come down on weekends. Finally I auditioned at Peabody, and once I got accepted, I moved down to Baltimore and stayed with
Lenny for four or five years."
"It wasn't as big an adjustment as you might think," he adds, "because I was already playing in a mostly black R&B band in Reading. But I learned a lot
being with Lenny. He would point out all the segregation problems in Baltimore, and I got to see them first-hand from the perspective of a black person. I grew a lot that way; it was an
educational time for me, not just musically, but also personally."
The musical education came from Moore's friendships with many of the biggest names in jazz. Through his manager, Hatza
got to meet John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Miles Davis, Kenny Burrell, Jimmy Smith and many others.
After playing a concert at the Civic Center or for the Left Bank Jazz Society, many of these
musicians would come by Moore's club for a late-night jam session, and Hatza would get the chance to sit in. |
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