October 16th, 2011
Published by: mooresb
Don Patterson By Pete Fallico Pete Fallico on Don patterson
Joey DeFrancesco
October 16th, 2011
By Pete FallicoKUSP-FM Santa Cruz, California
Don Patterson has been referred to by many as the 'Be Bop Organist'... That is, Don's style of playing was fast and articulate with borrowed ideas from Bop musicians. He was also known for his deep expression on ballads and was thought to be one of the finest interpreters of Blues on the Hammond organ. It was this fast and furious articulation of notes, however, that caught the eyes and ears of so many admirers. Charles Earland once described Don's playing as 'typewriterlike' and, to this day, even he emulates Don's staccato style. These were Don Patterson's trademarks and few if any other players pulled them off as well as he did. In conversations that I've had with other players through the years, Don's name has always come up. He has either influenced or been greatly admired by just about every serious player on the current jazz organ scene ... and yet it is Don's volume of work which is least represented amongst those who play and record in this style of American music. Don recorded with saxophone greats like Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Booker Ervin, Sonny Rollins, Jimmy Heath, George Coleman, Jimmy Forest, David 'Fathead' Newman, Gene Ammons, Eddie Daniels, Richie Cole, Charlie Rouse, Junior Cook, Houston Person and Sonny Stitt, to name a few. He played with numerous others musicians like Paul Weeden, Grant Green, Blue Mitchell, Ted Dunbar and Al Grey but it was his steady performing and recording with his own trio of Pat Martino and Billy James that has always seemed to me to be incomparable. Many of the younger jazz organists of today have actually taken the time to go back and find Don's work in used record stores...while others, like Joey DeFrancesco went out of their way to hear Don first hand and learn from him while he was still alive. I suppose life is, after all, for the living... and as I write these words (March 1999) it seems more logical to be releasing the past recordings of someone who is still with us and who can still travel around the country making appearances in support of such re-issues and new releases. It still frustrates me, however, to see the disparity between the numerous vinyl recordings I have by Don and what is available in stores on the CD format. Why should a musician of such greatness be neglected during our current Jazz Organ renaissance.
Fellow jazz organ aficionado, Bob Porter, is instrumental in many of the current 'Acid Jazz' releases on Prestige. He remembers Don Patterson as a reserved man who fit more of the 'sideman personality'. "He was really kind of a shy individual", says Bob, "He was not made out to be a band leader and was always associated with being Sonny Stitt's organ player". Bob worked with Don in the studio during the late sixties and described him as someone who "wanted to play and didn't really care about anything else"... sometimes showing up to a session with only one tune. With many tunes "made up on the spot" there was little chance of Don securing the band leader status that others had. In spite of this, his music on his own records or with others soon became some of the most potent in the entire genre. I have to believe that if Don were alive today, he'd be invited to many of these revitalized organ jams or summits... He'd be hailed, along with Larry Young, as a player who took the organ a step further. Don Patterson was born on July 22, 1936 in Columbus, Ohio where he attended the University School. He began as a piano player but switched over to the organ after hearing Jimmy Smith (sound familiar?). As a pre-teenage pianist, he was inspired by Carmen Cavallaro whose records Don's father would play in the house. Soon Don would hear Erroll Garner and be completely enthralled. He emulated this style by copying Erroll's solos note for note. Don did read music well, unlike Erroll, but shared Erroll's ability to swing naturally. Other influences on the piano included Horace Silver, Bill Evans, Red Garland and both Bud and Richie Powell. In 1956, Don heard Jimmy Smith playing the Hammond organ and something was triggered inside him. He knew that the organ would become his instrument as well. In Columbus at that time there was a club called the Club Regal where organist Hank Marr played regularly. Hank remembers seeing Don come into the club to see and hear an organ up close and real. "He seemed to be extremely curious about the organ when I 1