Hammond Jazz festival in Zottegem (B)

[michel devos]

last month, a small city in Belgium, Zottegem, set up a hammond Jazz festival to celebrate the Hammond organ 75th birthday.

The concerts took place in one day and included talented local musicians such as Dirk van der Linden (a really excellent player) and Carlo d'Wys, from The netherlands, as well as international stars like Rhoda scott and Barbara Dennerlein. The musical level of this event was constantly at an incredibly high level, as well as a perfect organisation.

A wide and enthusiastic audience cheered the musians until late in the night, with a fantastic finale showing the four organists playing together . I was really smashed by the power ans presence of Barbara Dennerlein : she sounds even better than on Cd's. Rhoda Sott gave us her usual soulful performances of well established standards. Both ladies wre phenomenal, a very exciting moment!

Having made the recording of the event, I was asked to write a short technical report for a hammond organ website and I thought it might interest some of you (I know there are some people from France around this forum) althought the text is written in french. There are some pictures, though.

I'll be glad to answer any questions in english.

here's the link : http://hammondnco.free.fr/hammondandbuzz/