JON HAMMOND
*Jon is currently Host of daily CBS radio program HammondCast on KYOU & KYCY 1550 AM, 7 days a week at 4AM PST.
*Performing solo in Hospitals, Nursing Homes regularly. Bandleader for annual overseas dates for over 20 years.
*Musician: Jon Hammond is one of the premier B3 PLAYERS in the world. Played venues as diverse as Boston's "Combat Zone" in the striptease clubs during the '70's and the exclusive Wychmere Harbor Club in Cape Cod, where he was house organist with Lou Colombo.
JON HAMMOND Band performing original "White Onions" in INDRA Home of The BEATLES first Hamburg gig! LUTZ BÜCHNER tenor sax HEINZ LICHIUS drums JOE BERGER guitar JON HAMMOND Hammond Organ and Bass
*Special Thanks Dankeschoen MICHAEL AUGUST aka ILLUSTRATORP, KNUT BENZNER, NDR *Camera by JENNIFER and GUENTER ZINT
Boots Hughston, Chet Helms, Dan Hicks, Golden Gate Park, HammondCast KYOU KYCY Radio, Jon Hammond, Learjet, Quicksilver, Rolls Royce, Summer Of Love, Tour Bus, XK-3c, B3, Organ
TAKA Blue Groove Sessions on HammondCast KYOU Radio interview with Jon Hammond in Narita Japan. Guitarist producer and Harley Daivdson chopper from Kamakura Beach. Taka Takamitsu Yashiro on MySpace http://www.myspace.com/bluegroovesessions
Bob Cunningham, Bass, Bernard Purdie, Jon Hammond, Local 802, Musicians Union, NDR Jazz, Late Rent, Mikell's, Jazz Foundation of America, Elmar Lemes, ASCAP Network, B3 organ, XK-3c, Blues, Funky, Rhonda Hamilton, WBGO, Lou Reed, J4JA!
Glen Barros Margaret Bridge Bob Cranshaw Hon. David Dinkins William Douglass Steven Edwards Dr. Frank Forte Ben Giordano Danny Glover Nat Hentoff Carl Horton Marc Henry Johnson Sandy Jordan Peter Low Phyllis Lubarsky L. Londell McMillan Geoffrey D. Menin Gil Noble Hank O’Neal Robert Opatrny, Esq., Secretary Jimmy Owens, Vice President Michael Pietrowicz, Treasurer Lee Richards Ann Ruckert Dr. Billy Taylor Dr. Ron Tikofsky Dr. Agnes Varis Marlisa Vinciquerra David Walden William Wurtzel
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Robbin Ahrold Jill Algrin Arthur H. Barnes Joslyn Barnes Cy Blank* Cephas Bowles Thurston Briscoe Ron Carter Chevy Chase Elvis Costello Jim Eigo Jon & Laurelyn Faddis Lois Gilbert Phoebe Jacobs* Quincy Jones Don Lucoff Bruce Lundvall Howard Mandel Stella Mars Wynton Marsalis Marian McPartland Jamil Nasser Richard D. Parsons Joe Piscopo Bob Porter Fran Richard Mrs. Frederick P. Rose Marc Roth Phil Schaap Richard Schebairo Stephen Seigel Lew Tabackin Agnes Varis George Wein Sharon Wise
Bill Cosby, Chevy Chase, Danny Glover, Great Night In Harlem, HammondCast, Jazz, Jazz Foundation of America, Jon Hammond, KYOURADIO, Musicians, Wendy Oxenhorn, Local 802 Musicians Union, XB-2, XK-3c, XK-1
Bernard Purdie, Jon Hammond, Local 802, Musicians Union, NDR Jazz, Late Rent, Mikell's, Jazz Foundation of America, Elmar Lemes, ASCAP Network, B3 organ, XK-3c, Blues, Funky, Rhonda Hamilton, WBGO
Focus International Musician Whatever Happened to Those Jazz Clubs on Every Corner? I live in a city of about 250,000 people. Vinnie Falcone, a member of Local 369 (Las Vegas, NV) who played and conducted for Frank Sinatra, and now works with Steve & Eydie and Robert Goulet, used to live and work here. That was about 35 years ago. When he wasn't selling pianos for a local Hammond/Steinway dealer, he probably played in almost every club within a 20-mile radius of here at one time or another. There were tons of them. Falcone and I talked about this just the other day. We came up with the names of the clubs that used live music five to seven nights a week. They could be found on almost on every street corner. Now they are all gone. Jazz groups, blues bands, singles, duos, and trios were always working; and if you came up with a new group you could, in all likelihood, find a club owner who would give you a shot. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. It's tough to make a living as a jazz musician today. But É you can make a living if you work at it. Like most things, I think it's just a matter of wanting it badly enough. One thing I've found out from the readers of this column is that musicians seem to be divided into two segments: 1) musicians who won't play anything they don't like or any venue that doesn't suit them; and 2) musicians who need to work because they need to pay their bills and find all kinds of ways to fill their calendar. I still get occasional letters from readers who say that it's not their fault that they are not getting enough work. I guess then the logical question would be: whose fault is it? I really appreciate the insight of those musicians who have creative and interesting ways of finding work, and I sympathize with the musicians who need to get out there and find gigs just to pay the rent. I don't have all the answers, but a lot of our fellow AFM members have some very good answers. One in particular is Jon Hammond, a member of Local 802 (New York City) and Local 6 (San Francisco, CA). Hammond has found a way to get his own TV show broadcast on Time Warner Cable and RCN cable access, he has produced a CD that gets airplay on jazz radio stations around the world, and he plays at Music Performance Fund (MPF) gigs on a regular basis on both coasts. He has booked himself on several European tours, played jazz clubs in Germany and many other locations in Europe, year after year, and has found a way to obtain instruments from national manufacturers for endorsements, advertising, or trial. Hammond is also a perfect example of "success being in the mind of the beholder." When he put together his first self-booked German tour 20 years ago, he saved up enough money to fly to Europe on Pakistan Airlines. He only had $50 in his pocket when he landed there. Hammond came home 10 months later with $150 in his pocket. He was able to pay for rent, food, and everything he needed during his time on the road in Europe. He wasn't rich, but he was happy--and he firmly believes it was also a terrific learning experience. Over the ensuing years Hammond has performed with some of the world's top jazz musicians, and he now lives in midtown Manhattan and plays any and every job he can, on either coast. Money is not his prime motivation. He just loves to play. He makes it work, through sheer hard work, and he prides himself on being a union musician. If you are a jazz musician, perhaps you might like to ask him some questions of your own, and share some ideas. Hammond is very approachable. Ask him about how he put together his TV show, how he successfully gets radio airplay, how he lands MPF gigs, and how, through it all, he always keeps money coming in to pay the rent. He's found a way to do state-funded programs in prisons, nursing home gigs, and casual dates in clubs. (He's scrambled so much over the years that his new CD is called Late Rent.) Hammond does not play for free. He finds ways to get paid. He agrees that the only thing you get out of playing a free gig is the opportunity to do another free gig. I know jazz musicians can have a tough struggle, and it's true that there simply are not as many places to play as there once were. But that is not to say that jazz players can't find work. Venues have changed, clubs have closed, but people still want to listen to cool sounds. Jazz festivals in major cities are still popular. Radio stations still offer jazz programs. PBS stations showcase jazz artists in their programming. It's just not as easy to make money at it as it once was, but you can still make a living. I don't have all the answers. I think Hammond has some. I bet if you brainstorm with your fellow AFM members who specialize in jazz, you can go one better and come up with a lot of other ideas yourself. A positive attitude is obviously going to play a big part, but if you want to play jazz and make a few bucks, there are certainly ways to do it. It really is a matter of wanting to be a jazz musician badly enough. --Bob Popyk is a member of Local 78 (Syracuse, NY) and Local 47 (Los Angeles).
That was a big honor for me to be profiled by main man Bob Popyk! I always look forward to reading his articles
*HammondCast Radio Show airs daily on KYOURADIO on the CBS Radio Network, Music, Travel and 'Soft News' with Jon Hammond
Bob Cunningham, Bass, Bernard Purdie, Jon Hammond, Local 802, Musicians Union, NDR Jazz, Late Rent, Mikell's, Jazz Foundation of America, Elmar Lemes, ASCAP Network, B3 organ, XK-3c, Blues, Funky, Rhonda Hamilton, WBGO
AFM, AFN Europe, B3 Organ, Blues Jazz, Bob Popyk, Focus, Gigs, HammondCast, Jon Hammond, KYOURADIO, Local 6 Musicians Union, Local 802, XB-2, XK-3c, Accordion, ASCAP
Jon Hammond Intro:
Instruments: Organ, Accordion, Piano, Guitar
Attended: Berklee College of Music 1974, City College San Francisco
Languages: English, German
Jon is closely identified with the two main products of his career, the Excelsior Accordion and the Hammond Organ.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sdWKfn5295pwjAaMkSaFb0hb4TPTRDVbUXnulH28xkwG9Xonz39Zox5aRNBQ6468kK8KfuZOXoEmH78p2VktPGLHwNCQaJMwb0JLaUoEHeoIGPyIZ8PO3eU3IxWR3qnSFUevR7747_O3Bm_H6a564=s0-d)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_u78nHa0g3MsrUf1bhjDFtgBzPgAksl8IpctkPOSsdPZF00IZp3C5aI-UNUQO5cH7n158LzJzW470owNv7TudEpVBqcfcuvKddPYQ4Loyte1ji-_0IU9mxUl_1iggH5M9ccatUWX61PFPhRlebnhQfV=s0-d)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vKfH_YNDZZL9bHUmdIDEtlNiyT-vRLpetX7sDmbUC9H1nf1mMEPupKxE9vDiy7PfuF8uY2vrKcomLQdXzh-F6-vioBukUfoEoT-1xtVqcYP_0wCNwFIWaUETLzc8m3Fyg6LoimhhEYrxT7b7CFfH_P=s0-d)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uWWDpRTrBF2Gtw-PeWYqvlKI3iog9L8c18AwTmzfe6AmcICH7taS84n0lPdMuTW5zVESBu7OXdXVRWC2PGGb8YwEqsKugpxlGulfrH8h4ULY0L6LMCmBzQYXsJuRaxwiDKavYJOTXaBiFyiYTrgC8X=s0-d)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sp2I_UGbrqjm694sSXdKLlkfSStKvBlWk9McIAeN3SNuQhxlnBHHO0JMlR_W-U1AWOWW017Syv-e3vqnfZ8vYVbuX-r3J1duo09lQElXV1Ox2ZG3eLGAmR4mo0McasKdly44zGGhXtf-nHNrV4tkdm=s0-d)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vY16cUEIpR5IX1_pcMZa5xtCApJDHvNAsXhF0t-af4QvELbsriQWK1JwYJuB4FS1kWnbUOmol1Owekw1JfWa_Wlje1TZUUG1992xb1x2kDVtlto0-9L_mg__W1rnNSyCB1BWdZ3kZ2eN4V0Tv5g8g=s0-d)
