Don Baker At The Organ - Hammond Organ- with Lee Pepper at piano.wmv

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• published: 18 Oct 2011
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Cielito Linda , La Paloma , Serenade Rhumba , Dark Eyes , Musical Moment , Southern Rhythm , Minute Waltz , Melody in F , Humoresque , Barcarolle , Sngs My Mother Taught Me , Piano Rag Don Baker at the Hammond Organ playing it like an accordion at times, but playing with the brilliance and mastery of a pro! This record is from 1960, a time much like now- when all forms of music reached a climax and people were still buying records with popular standards played by accomplished musicians, not for sport, but for entertainment. In 2011 we have instant access to all forms of music for the first time in history. The organ is a sound that must be listened to before it can be ignored. However once listened to intently one can't help, but to want to hear more. As a musician who avoided the organ for years I finally gave it another chance when someone offered an organ for me to play. I was hooked on playing it from the start. Soon I purchased a Hammond 102 and a Leslie 122 ( identical to the famed B3 & Leslie 122 combination, but in a different cabinet- the ugly French Provencal...still though I had the real deal, but for less $!). I played incessantly for 6 years, learning through osmosis because I wanted to learn organ different than I learned guitar for my first 6 of 20 years at that point. No notes, staffs, or 'tab'. No scales, just plain old listening and playing by ear. At first I was afraid I would develop bad habits, but I didn't care and that's how I played for those 6 years. I didn't make a deadline, but after 6 years I moved to Florida and my organs were left behind. I had reached a turning point and felt as though I exhausted my abilities on the Hammond tone wheel (TW) organ. Then 3 years later Youtube happened and it changed everything. I started to listen to more types of organ playing and it was like a new beginning. There is so much more organ than just Jimmy Smith and combo organ ( AKA Doors and Animals). The electronic theater organ (ETO) became more than just an ignored topic on the Organ Forum, it came alive to me. I made my first 200 song organ music playlist, then another, and another and listening all the while. Now I enjoy reading music and am getting better at it, my fingers are already trained, and probably all wrong, but they have their own feel and I'm glad. My favorite organ is my 64' Wurlitzer 4500- essentially Wurlitzer's first ETO. Incidentally the 4300 is a theater organ too, but in a spinet cabinet. These Wurlitzer's can be bought on Craigslist throughout the U.S. and elsewhere for pennies on the dollar as compared to when they were new. They still play perfect after the recommended capacitor change- contact Morelock's Wurlitzer Parts for great deals on NOS ( new old stock) parts for nearly every model. They are owned and ran by former Wurlitzer employees and they say they have enough parts for years to come and they also do repairs. Shipping on solid state chassis is surprisingly inexpensive. The chassis come right out after removing 2-4 screws and unplugging the simple Amphenol octal sockets.Contact Morelocks or Jan G. on the Organ Forum for a huge enventory of service manuals very reasonable BTW.- Thanks, Paul