Tuesday, March 26, 2002

PASSINGS
John Patton, 66; Organ Player Led
Soul-Jazz Trio

Big John Patton, 66, a soul-jazz organ player known for his
innovative deployment of the Hammond B3 organ, died Tuesday of
complications from diabetes and kidney malfunction in Montclair, N.J.

Patton started out on the piano and played with rhythm and blues
singer Lloyd Price from 1954 to 1959. He left Price and took up the
organ. By the early 1960s, he was making his own recordings and
collaborating with saxophonist Lou Donaldson, guitarist Grant Green
and drummer Ben Dixon in a band led by Donaldson.
For several years during the 1960s, he led his own soul-jazz trio,
which included Clifford Jarvis and James "Blood" Ulmer, and made
11 albums for the Blue Note label.
Later he recorded albums such as "Soul Connection" and "This
One's for J.A." for the labels Nilva and DIW.
His career enjoyed a resurgence in the 1980s when John Zorn
hired him to play the "Erotico" track on his 1986 album, "The Big
Gundown." Their collaboration coincided with a comeback for 1960s
organ jazz.



Copyright 2002 Los Angeles Time
[This message was edited Wed Mar 27 14:25:45 PST 2002 by PFunkjazz
[This message was edited Wed Mar 27 14:27:30 PST 2002 by PFunkjazz]