Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Congratulations 30th year Hammond Organ Germany Studio pictorial James Brown Visiting and Jon Hammond Journal September 26, 2012

*WATCH THE VIDEO HERE: Congratulations 30th year Hammond Organ Germany Studio pictorial James Brown Visiting http://archive.org/details/JonHammond40NeverBeforeSeenJamesBrownPhotoswithhisGodSonMichaelFalkenstein Youtube http://youtu.be/VjiDnJM0bd0 Congratulations 30th year Hammond Organ Germany Studio pictorial James Brown Visiting his God Son Michael Falkenstein - incredible must see and hear: James Brown the Godfather of Soul and his God Son Michael Falkenstein at the Hammond organ with original music soundtrack from Jon Hammond radio program HammondCast - musical selections: Time With You Six Year Itch Get Back In The Groove Watermelon Man Late Rent / HammondCast Outro R.I.P. Godfather of Soul James Brown - here in Hammond Organ Germany Studios with his actual God Son Michael Falkenstein, amazing but true. enjoy, Jon Hammond http://www.HammondCast.com Sending many congratulations and kudos on the wonderful occasion of 30th jahr Hammond Organ Germany Studio Jubiläum main man Klaus and Family! Youtube http://youtu.be/VjiDnJM0bd0 Vimeo movie from Jon Hammond: http://vimeo.com/26865075 20 minutes with original music from Michael and Jon, the incredible story incredible must see and hear: Leslie Speaker Tower of Power in Hammond Organ Germany Studio with Michael Falkenstein and Jon Hammond Thick Fog rolling in to San Francisco Bay Area yesterday - Jon Hammond Richmond California -- 1952 Hudson Hornet sighted - Jon Hammond Berkeley California -- Sitting in with my friends at EastBay Jazz Workshop private jazz club last night - Jon Hammond — with Louis Armstong and Charlie Parker Happy 30th Year Anniversary Hammond-Orgel-Studio to my Dearest Friends Michael & Klaus and Family!!! Sincerely yours, Jon Hammond — with Michael Falkenstein Klaus Maier in Frankfurt/Main with Jon Hammond & friend — with Yücel Atiker and Jon Hammond Session at EastBay Jazz Workshop - Jon Hammond *WATCH THE VIDEO HERE: Jon Hammond at Club Deluxe on Haight Street with Stephen Norfleet 4 http://archive.org/details/JonHammondAtClubDeluxeOnHaightStreetWithStephenNorfleet4 Youtube http://youtu.be/jf1EguGNztk San Francisco California -- Organist Jon Hammond kicking it off for the first time with Stephen Norfleet 4 at Club Deluxe on famous Haight Street in the heart of the Haight Ashbury District, tenor saxophonist Stephen Norfleet, Jordan Samuels guitar, Omar Aran drums, Jon Hammond at the Hammond Sk1 organ *Note: Jon highly recommends Chef Giovanni's Neapolitan-inspired artisan pizza loaded with garlic. Friendly respectful crowd enjoying Jazz Funky organ grooves, Pizza and seriously serious cocktails! http://www.sfclubdeluxe.com HammondCast http://www.HammondCast.com club deluxe pizza jazz organ grooves jon hammond sk1 stephen norfleet haight ashbury san francisco special thanks Chef Giovanni and Jay Johnson Blip TV http://blip.tv/jon-hammond/jon-hammond-at-club-deluxe-on-haight-street-with-stephen-norfleet-4-6366232 30th year anniversary, hammond organ studio, germany, klaus maier, michael falkenstein, jon hammond, jazz b3, musikmesse

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Bernard Purdie Dedication to his Kids Late Rent Closer at Mikell's Jon's Journal

*WATCH THE VIDEO HERE: Bernard Purdie Dedication to his Kids Late Rent Closer at Mikell's http://archive.org/details/BernardPurdieDedicationToHisKidsLateRentCloserAtMikells Youtube: http://youtu.be/B5qGwUgEyvM New York NY -- Flashback to August 1989 - Studio drummer Bernard Purdie takes the microphone on last set at Mikell's with Jon Hammond and The Late Rent Session Men band to dedicate the performance to his children Phyllis and Anthony. Theme song for the long-running cable TV program The Jon Hammond Show "Late Rent" original composition with Jon Hammond at his 1959 B3 organ Bernard Purdie drums Chuggy Carter percussion Alex Foster alto saxophone Barry Finnerty guitar *Note: This historic clip is photographic proof that the actual location of Mikell's was 760 Columbus Avenue at 97th and not 808 Columbus as the current Whole Foods near the old location claims, highly interesting! This is some of the rare surviving footage from Mikell's, in the house that night all night long was Hugh Masekela, Cornell Dupree and many musicians as Mikell's was the traditional hang for all New York Studio Musicians until it's closing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikell's As seen on The Jon Hammond Show cable TV program now in 28th year Camera: Joe Berger http://www.HammondCast.com Blip TV http://blip.tv/jon-hammond/bernard-purdie-dedication-to-his-kids-late-rent-closer-at-mikell-s-6350855 Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/49363343

Bernard Purdie Dedication to his Kids Late Rent Closer at Mikell's from Jon Hammond on Vimeo.

Mikell's NYC 1989 Ballad One and Only Love Jon Hammond Alex Foster Bernard Purdie Chuggy Carter *WATCH THE VIDEO HERE: Mikell's NYC 1989 Ballad One and Only Love Jon Hammond Alex Foster Bernard Purdie Chuggy Carter http://archive.org/details/MikellsNyc1989BalladOneAndOnlyLoveJonHammondAlexFosterBernard Youtube http://youtu.be/fm831FDztTs August 28, 1989 Jon Hammond at the B3 organ with Alex Foster tenor sax, Bernard Purdie drums and Chuggy Carter percussion playing ballad My One and Only Love. Mikell's was a very popular night spot for studio musicians and jazz hipsters, located at 760 Columbus Avenue New York City on the corner of 97th St. http://www.HammondCast.com Camera: Joe Berger http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikell%27s You can actually see Pat Mikell coming through the door to back room on the first 2 images. Mikell's was a jazz club on the corner of 97th Street and Columbus Avenue, New York. Run by Mike Mikell and Pat Mikell, from 1969 to 1991 it was a regular venue for New York's top studio and session musicians, who would turn up for jam sessions with major soul, funk and jazz artists visiting the city.Paul Shaffer, bandleader for CBS's Late Show with David Letterman, called Mikell's "soul heaven". In early 1980, the club served for rehearsals for Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers Big Band, which included Wynton Marsalis, and which would result in the live album Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers Big Band - Live at Montreux and North Sea (1980).[3] Other artists appearing at the club in the 1980s included Milt Jackson, Ray Brown, Cedar Walton and Mickey Roker (June 1983),Paquito D'Rivera (January 1984). Mikell's closed in 1991 Mikell's ballad b3 organ jon hammond bernard purdie drums alex foster saxophone studio musicians local 802 Vimeo http://vimeo.com/49496463

Mikell's NYC 1989 Ballad One and Only Love Jon Hammond Alex Foster Bernard Purdie Chuggy Carter from Jon Hammond on Vimeo.

Blip TV http://blip.tv/jon-hammond/mikell-s-nyc-1989-ballad-one-and-only-love-jon-hammond-alex-foster-bernard-purdie-chuggy-carter-6354476 Mikell's, ballad, b3 organ, jon hammond, bernard purdie, drums, alex foster, saxophone, studio musicians, local 802

Sunday, September 02, 2012

Hip Hop Chitlins Shoreline Amphitheatre Jon's Journal August 3, 2012

*WATCH THE VIDEO HERE: Hip Hop Chitlins Shoreline Amphitheatre Jon Hammond and The Late Rent Session Men http://archive.org/details/JonHammondHipHopChitlinsandLateRentThemeSonginShorelineAmphitheatre Youtube http://youtu.be/wQ20F_r2Xe8 Jon Hammond and The Late Rent Session Men playing original compositions "Hip Hop Chitlins" and "Late Rent" Jon Hammond's theme song in Shoreline Amphitheatre for the 12th annual New Orleans by The Bay Food and Music Festival produced by Bill Graham Presents. On the band with Jon are Larry Schneider tenor saxophone, Barry Finnerty guitar, James Preston drums Jon Hammond at the B3 organ and bass special thanks Mick Brigden http://www.jonhammondband.com Blip TV http://blip.tv/jon-hammond/hip-hop-chitlins-and-late-rent-theme-song-in-shoreline-amphitheatre-6324492 Hamburg St. Pauli Grosse Freiheit 4 -- Painting of actual Jon Hammond Band gig in the notorious Regina Niteclub #4 - http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Große_Freiheit "Einen guten Teil ihrer Bekanntheit verdankt sie den in früheren Jahren dort zahlreich anzutreffenden Nachtclubs, wie dem Salambo, Safari, Colibri, Regina und anderen, die sich dadurch auszeichneten, dass sie nicht nur Striptease boten, sondern darüber hinaus auch den Geschlechtsakt teilweise in Kostümen auf der Bühne zeigten. Die meisten dieser Clubs sind inzwischen geschlossen." painting by my good friend the great artist Michael August aka ILLUSTRATORP - JH Berkeley CA -- A young Jon Hammond circa 1969 at the Wurlitzer 140b electric piano - eventually traded in to Don Wehr, thanks for the good trade-in deal Don! JH *no problem buying beer with all that hair at the time! Funkadelic! George Clinton and Jon Hammond http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Clinton_(musician) George Clinton (born July 22, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost innovators of funk music, along with James Brown and Sly Stone. Clinton was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. Clinton was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina (allegedly in an outhouse), grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey, and currently resides in Tallahassee, Florida. During his teen years Clinton formed a doo wop group inspired by Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers called The Parliaments while straightening hair at a barber salon in Plainfield. For a period in the 1960s Clinton was a staff songwriter for Motown. Despite initial commercial failure (and one major hit single, "(I Wanna) Testify" in 1967), The Parliaments eventually found success under the names Parliament and Funkadelic in the seventies (see also P-Funk). These two bands combined the elements of musicians such as Jimi Hendrix, Sly and the Family Stone, Cream and James Brown while exploring different sounds, technology, and lyricism. Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic dominated diverse music during the 1970s with over 40 R&B hit singles (including three number ones) and three platinum albums. Clinton's efforts as a solo artist began in 1982. He is also a notable music producer working on almost all of the albums he performs on, as well as producing albums for Bootsy Collins and Red Hot Chili Peppers, among others. [edit]1980s Beginning in the early 1980s, Clinton recorded several nominal solo albums, although all of these records featured contributions from P-Funk's core musicians. The primary reason for recording under his own name was legal difficulties, due to the complex copyright and trademark issues surrounding the name "Parliament" (primarily) and Polygram's purchase of that group's former label Casablanca Records. In 1982, Clinton signed to Capitol Records under two names: his own (as a solo artist) and as the P-Funk All-Stars, releasing Computer Games under his own name that same year.[1] The single "Loopzilla" hit the Top 20 on the R&B charts, followed by "Atomic Dog", which reached #1 R&B and #101 on the pop chart.[1] In the next four years, Clinton released three more studio albums (You Shouldn't-Nuf Bit Fish, Some of My Best Jokes Are Friends and R&B Skeletons in the Closet) as well as a live album, Mothership Connection (Live from the Summit, Houston, Texas) and charting three singles in the R&B Top 30, "Nubian Nut", "Last Dance", and "Do Fries Go with That Shake?". This period of Clinton's career was marred by multiple legal problems (resulting in financial difficulties) due to complex royalty and copyright issues. In 1985, he was recruited by the Red Hot Chili Peppers to produce their album Freaky Styley, because the band members were huge fans of George Clinton and funk in general. Clinton, in fact, wrote the vocals and lyrics to the title track which was originally intended by the band to be left as an instrumental piece. The album was not a commercial success at the time, but has since sold 500,000 copies after the Red Hot Chili Peppers became popular years later. George Clinton performing in Holland. Though Clinton's popularity had waned by the mid 1980s, he experienced something of a resurgence in the early 1990s, as many rappers cited him as an influence and began sampling his songs. Alongside James Brown, George Clinton is considered to be one of the most sampled musicians ever. In 1989, Clinton released The Cinderella Theory on Paisley Park, Prince's record label. This was followed by Hey Man, Smell My Finger in 1993. Clinton then signed with Sony 550 and released T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M. (The Awesome Power of a Fully Operational Mothership) in 1996, having reunited with several old members of Parliament and Funkadelic. [edit]1990s to 2000s George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic performing at Waterfront Park, in Louisville, Kentucky, July 4, 2008 1994 saw Clinton contribute to several tracks on Primal Scream's studio album Give Out But Don't Give Up. In 1995 Clinton sang "Mind Games" on the John Lennon tribute Working Class Hero. In the 1990s, Clinton appeared in films such as Graffiti Bridge (1990), House Party (1990), PCU (1994), Good Burger (1997) and The Breaks (1999). In 1997 he appeared as himself in the Cartoon Network show Space Ghost Coast to Coast. Clinton also appeared as the voice of The Funktipus, the DJ of the Funk radio station Bounce FM in the 2004 video game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, in which his song "Loopzilla" also appeared. Rapper Dr. Dre sampled most of his beats to create his G-Funk music era. Displaying his influence on rap and hip hop, Clinton also worked with Tupac Shakur on the song "Can't C Me" from the album All Eyez on Me; Ice Cube on the song and video for "Bop Gun (One Nation)" on the Lethal Injection album (which sampled Funkadelic's earlier hit "One Nation Under A Groove"); Outkast on the song "Synthesizer" from the album Aquemini; Redman on the song "J.U.M.P." from the album Malpractice; Souls of Mischief on "Mama Knows Best" from the album Trilogy: Conflict, Climax, Resolution; Killah Priest on "Come With me" from the album Priesthood, and the Wu Tang Clan on "Wolves" from the album 8 Diagrams. George Clinton performing live in Texas. Clinton founded a record label called The C Kunspyruhzy in 2005. He had a cameo appearance in the season-two premiere of the CBS television sitcom How I Met Your Mother, on September 18, 2006. "You're Thinking Right", the theme song for The Tracey Ullman Show, was written by Clinton. He appeared on the intro to Snoop Dogg's Tha Blue Carpet Treatment album, released in 2007. Clinton was also a judge for the 5th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.[2] On September 16, 2008, Clinton released a solo album, George Clinton and His Gangsters of Love on Shanachie Records. Largely a covers album, Gangsters features guest appearances from Sly Stone, El DeBarge, Red Hot Chili Peppers, RZA, Carlos Santana, gospel singer Kim Burrell and more.[3] On September 10, 2009, George Clinton was awarded the Urban Icon Award from Broadcast Music Incorporated.[4] The ceremony featured former P-Funk associate Bootsy Collins, as well contemporary performers such as Big Boi from Outkast and Cee-Lo Green from Goodie Mob. On February 1, 2010, Clinton's son, George Clinton, Jr., was found dead in his Florida home. According to police, he had been dead for several days and died of natural causes.[5] On May 20, 2010, George Clinton received a proclamation from Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs of Plainfield, New Jersey, the city in which he was raised, at a fundraiser for the Barack Obama Green Charter High School, which is focused creating leaders in sustainability for the 21st Century. He performed alongside Parliament-Funkadelic at the 2011 Gathering of the Juggalos. — with George Clinton. New York NY -- Chicken Soup Time with main man Joe Franklin in his Times Square offices "Memory Lane"! JOE FRANKLIN & JON HAMMOND Movie http://youtu.be/-tHelMVWUJ0 - Jon Hammond *my CD's are in there! Also a bottle of Pepto Bismol, Joe is in-between banquets here - JH JOE FRANKLIN & JON HAMMOND Movie in Joe's office "Memory Lane" where he keeps his extensive Historical Archives on 43rd St. in NYC. The phone was ringing off the hook like popcorn! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Franklin Joe Franklin (born Joseph Fortgang on March 9, 1926) is an American radio and television personality. From New York City, Franklin is credited with hosting the first television talk show. The show began in 1951 on WJZ-TV (later WABC-TV) and moved to WOR-TV (later WWOR-TV) from 1962 to 1993.[1] After retiring from the television show, Franklin concentrated on an overnight radio show, playing old records on WOR-AM on Saturday evenings. He currently interviews celebrities on the Bloomberg Radio Network.[2] An author, Franklin has written 23 books, including Classics of the Silent Screen.[3] His 1995 autobiography Up Late with Joe Franklin[4] chronicles his long career and includes claims that he had dalliances with Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and that Veronica Lake "threw herself at me, but I always refrained."[5] He has appeared as himself in countless films, notably Ghostbusters and Broadway Danny Rose. Franklin's show was often parodied by Billy Crystal during the 1984–1985 season of Saturday Night Live. Franklin was also a pioneer in promoting products such as Hoffman Beverages and Ginger Ale on the air.[1] Known as "the king of nostalgia", Franklin's highly-rated television and radio shows, especially a cult favorite to cable television viewers and his long-running "Memory Lane" radio programs, focused on old-time show-business personalities. Franklin has an encyclopedic knowledge of the music, musicians and singers, the Broadway stage shows, the films and entertainment stars of the first half of the 20th Century, and is an acknowledged authority on silent film. He began his entertainment career at 16 as a record picker for Martin Block's popular "Make Believe Ballroom" radio program. Among Franklin's own idols, as he frequently told viewers, were Al Jolson, whom he literally "followed around" as a teenager in New York, and Eddie Cantor, who eventually began buying jokes from the young Franklin and whose Carnegie Hall show Franklin later produced. Franklin would delight his audience with trivia about the most obscure entertainers from past generations and equally unknown up-and-comers from the present. His guests ranged from novelty performers like Tiny Tim, and Morris Katz to popular entertainers like Bill Cosby and Captain Lou Albano to legends like Bing Crosby, Charlie Chaplin, John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, but also frequently included (sometimes on the same panel) unknown local New York punk bands, self-published authors, "tribute" impersonator lounge singers, and the like, giving the show a surreal atmosphere that was part of its appeal. Many of today's well known talents such as Woody Allen, Barbra Streisand and Julia Roberts got their first television exposure on The Joe Franklin Show. Others, notoriously shy of live interviews, made frequent appearances on Franklin's programs: Frank Sinatra, for instance, appeared four times. Joe would appear on the very first episode of This American Life giving host Ira Glass advice on how to have a sucessful show. In addition to his TV Talk Show, Joe appeared regularly with Conan O'Brien. He's also seen on "The David Letterman Show," "Live With Regis And Kathy Lee," and has been mentioned several times on the hit cartoon series "The Simpsons." Producer Richie Ornstein has worked side-by-side with Joe Franklin for decades and was a standard feature on Joe Franklin's Show to interact with guests and to discuss trivia. — with Joe Franklin at Times Square NYC Hollywood California -- Rest In Peace Hal David ASCAP Songwriters Hall of Fame Chairman & CEO - here at ASCAP Expo - Jon Hammond 2010 http://www.ascap.com/playback/2010/08/Action/SHallofFame.aspx May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hal_David Harold Lane "Hal" David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York City. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick. David was born to a Jewish family in New York City, the son of Lina (née Goldberg) and Gedalier David, a deli owner.[1] He is credited with popular music lyrics, beginning in the 1940s with material written for bandleader Sammy Kaye and for Guy Lombardo. He worked with Morty Nevins of The Three Suns on four songs for the feature film Two Gals and a Guy (1951), starring Janis Paige and Robert Alda. In 1957, David met composer Burt Bacharach at Famous Music in the Brill Building in New York. The two teamed up and wrote their first hit "The Story of My Life", recorded by Marty Robbins in 1957. Later that year Perry Como had a hit with their "Magic Moments". Subsequently, in the 1960s and early 1970s Bacharach and David wrote some of the most enduring songs in American popular music, many for Dionne Warwick but also for The Carpenters, Dusty Springfield, B. J. Thomas, Gene Pitney, Tom Jones, Jackie DeShannon and others. Bacharach and David hits included "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head", "This Guy's in Love with You", "I'll Never Fall in Love Again", "Do You Know the Way to San Jose", "Walk On By", "What the World Needs Now Is Love", "I Say a Little Prayer", "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me", "One Less Bell to Answer", and "Anyone Who Had a Heart". The duo's film work includes the Oscar-nominated title songs for "What's New Pussycat?" and "Alfie", "The Look of Love", from Casino Royale; and the Oscar-winning "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid In addition, "Don't Make Me Over", "(They Long to Be) Close to You", and "Walk On By" have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. David and Bacharach were awarded the 2011 Gershwin Prize for Popular Song bestowed by the Library of Congress, the first time a songwriting team was given the honor. David was recuperating from a recent illness and was unable to attend the Washington D.C. presentation ceremony in May 2012.[2] David's work with other composers includes Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias's "To All the Girls I've Loved Before", with Albert Hammond; Sarah Vaughan's "Broken Hearted Melody", with Sherman Edwards; the 1962 Joanie Sommers hit "Johnny Get Angry". also with Edwards; and "We Have All the Time in the World", written with John Barry and sung by Louis Armstrong for the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service. With Paul Hampton, David co-wrote the country standard "Sea of Heartbreak", a hit for Don Gibson and others. David died in the morning hours of September 1, 2012, due to a stroke. He was 91. Other achievements 1972: inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. 1984: elected to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. 1991: received a Doctor of Music degree from Lincoln College, Illinois for his major contribution to American music. May 2000: received an honorary doctorate of humane letters degree from Claremont Graduate University. Founder of the Los Angeles Music Center. Member of the board of governors of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Member of the board of directors of ASCAP, having served as its president, and later worked on reform of intellectual property rights. Served on the advisory board of the Society of Singers. Member of the board of visitors of Claremont Graduate University in California. Chairman of the board of the National Academy of Popular Music and its Songwriters Hall of Fame 2011: The Songwriters Hall of Fame presented him their newest award, the Visionary Leadership Award, for his decade of service.[5] 2011: Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. — with Hal David at Renaissance Hotel in Hollywood, California New York NY -- Jazz Blues Pianist Junior Mance and Jon Hammond - 5 part interview Part 3 of 5 http://youtu.be/w2sqVBSIP3M Pt 3 of 5 - Junior Mance jazz pianist extraordinaire on HammondCast KYOU Radio Jon Hammond hosting. Born 1928 Chicago IL, played with Gene Ammons, Cannonball Adderly, Dynah Washington, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt, Charlie Parker, Lester Young and many others. Currently teaching at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. Interview conducted at Cafe Loup New York City where Junior performs regularly and has recorded latest album. http://www.HammondCast.com/ — at Cafe Loup San Francisco California -- My Grandmother’s Chair brought to you by Jon Hammond http://hammondcast.wordpress.com/2010/01/29/my-grandmothers-chair-brought-to-you-by-jon-hammond/ This is one of 4 kitchen chairs that belonged to my dear Grandma for many years. I used to sit my tuchas down on those chairs and enjoy her delicious soup and coffee cake she used to make for me. I have a lot of good memories in that chair, so when the back of it started getting a little shaky, but still firm on it’s legs my Mom decided it was time to finally say goodbye to this one, now there is only one of the original 4 left. I decided to bring this chair to a good neighborhood, maybe someone will adopt the chair and take it in to their nice home, so here you can see it sitting for the last time, I sat on it for a wile and remembered the good times in the chair and there it is folks, my Grandmother’s Chair! brought to you by Jon Hammond *possible houses for my Grandma’s Chair: *see Link - JH — at Richmond District of San Francisco, CA Hamamatsu Japan -- Mr. Manji Suzuki President Founder of Suzuki Musical Instruments, designer manufacturers of the fine modern Hammond Organs I play today and the famous Suzuki Harmonicas and Suzuki Melodeons which have become a key product for schools and live performance - Jon Hammond *WATCH THE VIDEO HERE: http://ia700204.us.archive.org/10/items/JonHammondSuzukiWorldHeadquartersInHouseConcertJonHammondPt3of3/SuzukiHeadquarterPart3of3.m4v — in Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka Frankfurt Germany -- Jon Hammond taking care of business on the bandstand - photo by Joachim Hildebrand Youtube http://youtu.be/opzqgNtyuH0 Annual Musikmesse Warm Up Party in Jazzkeller Frankfurt hosted by Jon Hammond Band Tony Lakatos tenor sax Jon Hammond XK-1 organ Giovanni Gulino drums Joe Berger guitar Lydias Tune composed by Jon Hammond © JH INTL ASCAP — at Jazzkeller jon hammond, b3 organ, shoreline amphitheatre, cable tv, program bernard purdie, funky jazz, blues, late rent, local 802, musicians union, hal david, ascap

Late Rent San Francisco City Hall Concert Jon Hammond Band Journal

*WATCH THE VIDEO HERE: Late Rent San Francisco City Hall Concert Jon Hammond Band http://archive.org/details/JonHammondLateRentSanFranciscoCityHallConcertJonHammondBand/ Youtube http://youtu.be/SJmZvw5kErU Jon Hammond and The Late Rent Session Men performing in front of San Francisco City Hall original composition "Late Rent" - Theme Song of The Jon Hammond Show, with Jon Hammond at his 1965 B3 organ along with Barry Finnerty guitar, James Preston (of Sons of Champlin Band) drums, Harvey Wainapel tenor sax, Steve Campos trumpet / flugelhorn As seen on The Jon Hammond Show cable TV program http://www.jonhammondband.com Category: Music Blip TV http://blip.tv/jon-hammond/late-rent-san-francisco-city-hall-concert-jon-hammond-band-6332621 Vimeo http://vimeo.com/48677739

Late Rent San Francisco City Hall Concert Jon Hammond Band from Jon Hammond on Vimeo.

Chronicles of my 1965 Hammond B3 Organ last reported at sea on container ship History of My 1965 Hammond B3 and Leslie 122 Jon Hammond USA

Jon Hammond USA --- 40 years ago when I was 18 years old in the year 1971, I was a member of an

original rock band called HADES. My first full size Hammond organ I had purchased from Boz Scaggs

which was a model A-103 with 2 Leslies and road cases. What I really wanted was a Hammond B3 organ

with 122 Leslie. My previous organ I had custom modified by the legendary Bill Beer of Keyboard

Products in Los Angeles. This was the organ that I lent to Chester Thompson at the time he joined

Tower of Power. Chester liked the organ so much, that he went down to L.A. and had Bill Beer

build him the rig that he used for over 30 years in the Carlos Santana Band.

Always on the look out for a B3, I went to a party in Berkeley CA in a house where there was a

beautiful Hammond B3 and Leslie 122. The young man who owned the organ told me he would be

interested in selling the organ. I told my Dad about it and the next day we went back to the

house, checked it out and made an offer. I had to take out a bank loan for the organ and so I

then sold my A-103 organ rig to Leo of Leo's Music in Oakland CA. When I got the B3 I took it

down to Los Angeles in a cloased U-Haul trailer on the back of my Dad's 1967 Lincoln Continental



I had Bill Beer install a few custom 'mods' including Spring Reverb, Aux Inputs and Outputs,

and a voltage controller. I used to like to stack 2 Leslie speakers as in this photo:


I could have never bought my Hammond B3 organ and Leslie if my Father had not co-signed the bank

loan, thanks Dad!:


Here is the inside of my 1965 Hammond B3 - serial number 96994


You can see some of the custom modifications Bill Beer installed in my B3 organ


more mods by Bill Beer Keyboard Products


Serial Number plate of stock model 122 Leslie Speaker 27777


Over the years I have played many concerts with my 1965 Hammond B3 organ in places such as

Bill Graham's Shoreline Amphitheater and right in front of San Francisco City Hall *see here:


YouTube clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtSqGfmV628



Custom Inputs:


As I write this, I am prepping my B3 and Leslie for a long trip to Bernies Music Land in

Ringwood Victoria Australia. I want to thank Bernie Capicchiano for keeping the legacy of

this magnificent instrument alive. My organ will be in the museum of Bernies Music Land and with

good luck I will be returning again to Australia in the future to play it again on the other

side of the planet and next time it will be powered by 240 volts folks!

Thank you Bernie and Bernies Music Land Award Winning Musico Team!


1965 Hammond B3 Organ and Leslie 122 in my Mom's living room with the back off, Jon at Organ:


Bernie Capicchiano and Jon Hammond in Bernies Music Land Ringwood Australia:


Bernies Music Land, Organ Museum, 1965 Hammond B3, Leslie 122, Bernie Capicchiano, Ringwood Australia, Berkeley California, Shoreline Amphitheater, San Francisco City Hall, Bill Beer, Keybaord Products *WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:

http://ia700204.us.archive.org/10/items/JonHammondSuzukiWorldHeadquartersInHouseConcertJonHammondPt3of3/SuzukiHeadquarterPart3of3.m4v

Suzuki Concert Part 3 of 3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Uok7LV6OZk


JonHammondBand | November 02, 2010
Suzuki Headquarters and factory concert special for President Founder Manji Suzuki with introduction by Waichiro 'Tachi' Tachikawa, Jon Hammond at the new B3mk2 organ with Koei Tanaka chromatic harmonica Part 3 of 3 "Mercy Mercy" in Hamamatsu Japan.
Special Thanks Mr. H. Ono, Mr. M. Terada, Mr. S. Ohtaka, Mr. Y. Beniya, Tachi Tachikawa, President M. Suzuki and entire Suzuki Musical Instruments Team, camera: Jennifer © JH INTL
http://www.HammondCast.com

Suzuki Musical Instruments, B3mk2 Organ, Tachi Tachikawa, Hamamatsu, Headquarters, Jon Hammond, Local 802 Musicians Union



Jon Hammond is introduced to Founder President of Suzuki Instruments Manji Suzuki by Master of Ceremonies Waichiro 'Tachi' Tachikawa at special concert for President Suzuki and Suzuki Team at Suzuki World Headquarters Suzuki Hall in Hamamatsu Japan. Jon played the incredible New B3mk2 Organ solo and together in duo with Suzuki Harmonica Artist Keio Tanaka *see corresponding videoshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXgA6MRW0Kc Wine and Roses
and Mercy Mercy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Uok7LV6OZk Suzuki builds Hammond Organs and the famous high quality Harmonicas
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5869633&l=e84b420b06&id=558692101



Concert Jon Hammond Pt 2 of 3









Suzuki Headquarters and factory concert special for President Founder Manji Suzuki with introduction by Waichiro 'Tachi' Tachikawa, Jon Hammond at the new B3mk2 organ with Koei Tanaka chromatic harmonica Part 2 of 3 "Days of Wine and Roses" in Hamamatsu Japan.
Special Thanks Mr. H. Ono, Mr. M. Terada, Mr. S. Ohtaka, Mr. Y. Beniya, Tachi Tachikawa, President M. Suzuki and entire Suzuki Musical Instruments Team, camera: Jennifer © JH INTL
http://www.HammondCast.com 



http://www.archive.org/details/JonHammondSuzukiWorldHeadquartersInHouseConcertJonHammondPt2of3/


Suzuki Harmonicas Artist Koei Tanaka and Jon Hammond

Suzuki World Headquarters In House Concert Jon Hammond Pt 1 of 3









Suzuki Headquarters and factory concert special for President Founder Manji Suzuki with introduction by Waichiro 'Tachi' Tachikawa, Jon Hammond at the new B3mk2 organ with Koei Tanaka chromatic harmonica Part 2 of 3 "Days of Wine and Roses" in Hamamatsu Japan.
Special Thanks Mr. H. Ono, Mr. M. Terada, Mr. S. Ohtaka, Mr. Y. Beniya, Tachi Tachikawa, President M. Suzuki and entire Suzuki Musical Instruments Team, camera: Jennifer © JH INTL
http://www.HammondCast.com 






*WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:

http://www.archive.org/details/JonHammondSuzukiWorldHeadquartersInHouseConcertJonHammondPt1of3/

http://hamamatsutic.hamazo.tv/e2334330.html

Suzuki Musical Instruments, B3mk2 Organ, Tachi Tachikawa, Hamamatsu, Headquarters, Jon Hammond, Local 802 Musicians Union Hammond Suzuki Sk1 Organ Stage Keyboard Available Sk2 to Follow

Fits In This Gig Bag!


http://blip.tv/jon-hammond/no-x-cess-baggage-sk1-blues-5264917



HAMMOND SUZUKI USA NEWS Jon Hammond SK1 in Germany

http://www.hammondorganco.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=157:jon-hammond-sk1-in-germany&catid=35:events

Sk1 Hammond Stage Keyboard 新着情報 REPORT/海外からのお客様/ハモンド/鈴木楽器 Jon Hammond

*WATCH THE VIDEO HERE: Meet The Incredible Sk1 Hammond with Michael Falkenstein and Jon Hammond

http://ia600609.us.archive.org/13/items/MeetTheIncredibleSk1HammondWithMichaelFalkensteinAndJonHammond/MeetTheIncredibleSk1Hammond.m4v

http://www.archive.org/details/MeetTheIncredibleSk1HammondWithMichaelFalkensteinAndJonHammond

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb7HHYzE9Gs



Filmed in Hammond Suzuki Deutschland Headquarters Karlstrasse 38
D-89129 Langenau Germany on April 19th 2011
"Meet The Incredible Sk1 Hammond with Michael Falkenstein and Jon Hammond"
First look at this exciting new keyboard product weighing in at 7 kilos, just over 15 lbs., it sounds like a real Hammond B3 organ with Leslie, or a full size grand piano, any type of famous vintage electric piano or synthesizer. This keyboard does it all and with original Hammond drawbars and it's feather light. Sk1 has a built in USB flash drive input, the keys are 'bullet proof' waterfall style keys that can hold up to extreme pressure of rockin' rock musicians, swinging jazz musicians and can even sound like a huge pipe organ. This film will blow your mind.
Available June 2011, contact Michael Falkenstein Hammond Suzuki Deutschland Europe http://www.hammond.de/kontakt.html
Camera: Jennifer
Special thanks, Hr. Klaus Maier founder of Hammond Germany, Suzuki Musical Instruments Chief Engineers Hiromitsu Ono, Ken Atsumi, Malc Deakin Hammond UK, Jennifer Schiele, Waichiro 'Tachi' Tachikawa, Dennis Capiga Hammond Suzuki USA - dedicated to the Samurai Spirit of Japan during the recovery, we send our most sincere thanks and wishes for a speedy recovery to our good friends in Japan.
Sincerely, Jon Hammond
enjoy this film of the © Nord Killer in action with 2 veteran players http://www.HammondCast.com
Sk1, Hammond Organ, Piano, Suzuki Musical Instruments, Jazz, Rock, Blues, B3, Sk2, Classical
Category:
Music
Tags:
Sk1 Hammond Organ Piano Suzuki Musical Instruments Jazz Rock Blues B3 Sk2 Classical

http://vimeo.com/22803013



1965 Hammond B3, Organ, San Francisco, City Hall, Willie Brown, Bay Area, Cable TV Show, Local 6, Musicians Union, Late Rent

Friday, August 31, 2012

San Francisco City Hall Concert Pocket Funk by Jon Hammond Band

*WATCH THE VIDEO HERE: San Francisco City Hall Concert Pocket Funk by Jon Hammond Band http://archive.org/details/SanFranciscoCityHallConcertPocketFunkByJonHammondBand Youtube http://youtu.be/jcH0VqdDvII Jon Hammond Band performing in front of San Francisco City Hall original composition "Pocket Funk" with Jon Hammond at his 1965 B3 organ along with Barry Finnerty guitar, James Preston (of Sons of Champlin Band) drums, Harvey Wainapel tenor sax, Steve Campos trumpet / flugelhorn As seen on The Jon Hammond Show cable TV program http://www.jonhammondband.com Category: Music Blip TV http://blip.tv/jon-hammond/san-francisco-city-hall-concert-pocket-funk-by-jon-hammond-band-6330089 Myspace http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/108956908 *WATCH THE VIDEO HERE: Pocket Funk Louisville Kentucky http://archive.org/details/PocketFunkInLouisvilleKentucky Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olub20ZlmMI Jon Hammond Band one night only in Louisville Kentucky Jon's tune "Pocket Funk" featuring drummer Ronnie Smith Jr. on this one Alex Budman tenor sax John Bishop guitar Jon Hammond at the organ and bass *From Jon's album "Late Rent" http://www.jonhammondband.com ENCORES: Louisville Kentucky Jazz Factory - JON HAMMOND Band Jazzin By Martin Z. Kasdan Jr. Last year San Francisco-based organist Jon Hammond joined his buddy, Louisville guitarist John Bishop, for a night at the Jazz Factory. Hammond has just released Late Rent, on Ham-Berger-Friz Records, available at http://www.cityhallrecords.com/artist/HAMMOND,%20JON.htm if you can't find it locally. In an e-mail to me, Hammond described this as "a record that took me 25 years to put together. The disc opens with "Late Rent," a loping swinger and is followed by "Pocket Funk," with a slightly Latin feel. "Late Rent" is reprised in a live take at the end of the CD. Lee Morgan's funky "The Sidewinder" is the only cover tune on the album, although, as Hammond acknowledges in his liner notes, "White Onions" is "a bluesy Hammond/Finnerty composition reminiscent of `Green Onions.'" In closing, happy holidaze to one and all. You can send greetings to me at mzkjr@yahoo.com Blip TV http://blip.tv/jon-hammond/pocket-funk-in-louisville-kentucky-6309220 Pat Campbell · Friends with Joe Berger and 16 others Tear it up Jon !!!! Loretta Young-Watkins · 2 mutual friends you go Ron! http://vimeo.com/47701235

Pocket Funk in Louisville Kentucky from Jon Hammond on Vimeo.

New York NY -- Window of Steinway Hall on W.57th Street "Secrets of Steinway" pianos - Jon Hammond http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steinway_Hall Steinway Hall (German: Steinway-Haus) is the name of buildings housing concert halls, showrooms and sales departments for Steinway & Sons pianos. The first Steinway Hall was opened 1866 in New York City.[1] Today, Steinway Halls and Steinway-Häuser are located in world cities such as New York City, London, Berlin and Vienna. A flagship Steinway Hall is on 57th Street in Manhattan in New York City, near Carnegie Hall. New York NY -- Power Corner - Intersection of Central Park South and Fifth Avenue, across from The Plaza Hotel on one corner, Apple Store Fifth Avenue and CBS News Broadcast Center, The Sherry Netherland Hotel and A LA VIEILLE RUSSIE where people actually buy FABERGE, Antique Jewelry, and Russian Art - Jon Hammond La Vieille Russie is a New York antiques gallery specializing in European and American antique jewelry, and in Russian works of art. A family business since its establishment in Kiev in 1851, it has been in its present Fifth Avenue location at 781 Fifth Avenue at 59th Street, opposite the southeast corner of Central Park, since 1961. Featured are artworks by Carl Fabergé, created for members of the Romanov court and other wealthy patrons in turn-of-the-century Russia. A La Vieille Russie has bought and sold many of the Fabergé Imperial Easter Eggs... With the onset of World War II, the gallery relocated from Paris to New York. Initially, it was one of the first tenants at Rockefeller Center in 1934, then moved to another Fifth Avenue location in 1941, and finally to its present location in 1961 on New York’s famed Fifth Avenue, at 59th Street opposite the south entrance of Central Park. — at The Plaza Hotel. New York NY -- 9 West 57th Street, the famous Solow Building - in 1985 this is where I was called to a meeting with then Sony President John O'Donnell in the Sony Corporate offices on the 43rd Floor where he offered me a 7 year contract for my cable TV show "The Jon Hammond Show" to be exclusive on Sony on the new Software Division. At the time the only acts signed to this division on Sony Label were Tina Turner, David Bowie and an experimental project called "Private Dances" - Jon Hammond http://archive.org/details/JonHammondMNNTVTheJonHammondShow now on MNN TV - 28th year *Note: Sony vacated the 43rd Floor and moved to the Sony Building. The view from the offices on 43rd Floor were stunning! - JH http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9_West_57th_Street The Solow Building, located at 9 West 57th Street, is a Manhattan skyscraper designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill's Gordon Bunshaft and built in 1974. It is located just west of Fifth Avenue, sandwiched between the 57th and 58th Street, next to such prominent buildings as the Bergdorf Goodman department store and the Plaza Hotel. Consisting of 50 stories and 689 ft. (210 m), the building's only competitor by height in the neighborhood is the GM Building, located one block north and east. Floors above the 23rd floor offer a virtually unobstructed view of northern Manhattan and a complete view of Central Park. One of the notable aesthetic attributes of the building is the concave vertical slope of its north and south facades, on 57th and 58th Street. This is similar to another of Bunshaft's creations, the W. R. Grace Building, which is no coincidence, as he had used the initial, rejected façade design for the Solow Building in his design for the Grace Building The Solow Building features some of the most expensive rents in Manhattan. The Solow Building Company occupies a permanent lease of the top floor of the skyscraper. Well-known tenants include the U.S. Headquarters of the French Corporate and Investment Bank Natixis and private equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (42nd fl.), Apollo Management (43rd fl.), Silver Lake Partners (32nd fl.) and Highland Capital Management (38th fl.). Several law firms and hedge funds occupy a majority of the remainder the space, including Och-Ziff Capital Management (39th fl.) and Highbridge Capital Management (27th fl.). The corporate offices of Chanel (44th fl.), MBNA (50th fl.) and Cendant (Cendant changed its name to Avis Budget Group in 2006) (37th fl.) are also located in the building. Amenities The building features an underground parking garage, currently available retail space on the north side bordering 58th Street, an underground space occupied by the Brasserie 8½ restaurant, a 2 floor trading floor on floors 2-3, a newsstand in the lobby, and 24 high-speed elevators subdivided into sets of floors. [edit]Name Issues In 1971, Avon Products, Inc. rented 21 floors, quickly expanding to occupy 25 floors, and the building was soon being referred to as "the Avon building" (a moniker that persists and can still cause confusion nearly 40 years later). In 1975, the building's owner, Sheldon Solow, sued Avon for misappropriating the building's trademark without compensation. Although Avon moved out of the building in 1997, in May 2005 the lawsuit finally went to trial and was subsequently dismissed two months later.[3] [edit]In popular culture "The Red 9" in front of the Solow Building The large red sculpture of the digit 9 in front of the building was included in the project as a response to the complaints that the building's sloping reflecting walls revealed unappealing sides of the neighboring historic buildings that were previously obscured. The brightly colored sculpture was to distract the eyes of passersby from noticing these walls. This famous New York sculpture was designed by graphic artist Ivan Chermayeff. The restaurant Brasserie 8½ was featured on the show Sex and the City. Chandler Bing a character from the sitcom Friends worked in this building during the series. Namesake of the Nine West shoe store chain. In Superman, a jewel thief is apprehended by Superman while scaling the side of the building while wearing suction cups on his hands and knees[4]. Featured in the film Zoolander with a giant computer generated M, which served as Mugatu's fashion headquarters. In the film Cloverfield, the monster's hand slides down the facade of the building when knocked down momentarily by a carpet bombing run. In the film Lost in America, the final scene where Albert Brooks' character David Howard meets advertising executive Brad ("This little town car...Will drive you away...") occurs in front of this building. Was featured in the film Bride Wars behind the "Plaza Hotel". — at 9 West 57th. New York NY -- Artist Yayoi Kusama looking at the people looking at her in window of Louis Vuitton on Fifth Avenue and 57th St. today - Jon Hammond http://www.yayoi-kusama.jp/e/information/index.html (草間 彌生 or 草間 弥生, Kusama Yayoi, born March 22, 1929) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yayoi_Kusama s a Japanese artist and writer. Throughout her career she has worked in a wide variety of mediums, including painting, collage, sculpture, performance art and environmental installations, most of which exhibit her thematic interest in psychedelic colors, repetition and pattern. A precursor of the pop art, minimalist and feminist art movements, Kusama influenced contemporaries such as Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg.[1] Although largely forgotten after departing the New York art scene in the early 1970s, Kusama is now acknowledged as one of the most important living artists to come out of Japan, and an important voice of the avant-garde. Born in Matsumoto, Nagano into an upper middle-class family of seedling merchants,[2] Kusama started creating art at an early age, going on to study Nihonga painting in Kyoto in 1948. Frustrated with this distinctly Japanese style, she became interested in the European and American avant-garde, staging several solo exhibitions of her paintings in Matsumoto and Tokyo during the 1950s. In 1957 she moved to the United States, settling down in New York City where she produced a series of paintings influenced by the abstract expressionist movement. Switching to sculpture and installation as her primary mediums, Kusama became a fixture of the New York avant-garde, having her works exhibited alongside the likes of Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg and George Segal during the early 1960s, where she became associated with the pop art movement. Embracing the rise of the hippie counterculture of the late 1960s, Kusama came to public attention after she organised a series of Body Festivals in which naked participants were painted with brightly colored polka dots. In 1973, Kusama moved back to her native Japan, where she found the art scene far more conservative than that in New York. Becoming an art dealer, her business folded after several years, and after experiencing psychiatric problems, in 1977 she voluntarily admitted herself to a hospital, where she has spent the rest of her life. From here, she continued to produce artworks in a variety of mediums, as well as launching a literary career by publishing several novels, a poetry collection and an autobiography. Kusama's work is based in conceptual art and shows some attributes of feminism, minimalism, surrealism, Art Brut, pop art, and abstract expressionism, and is infused with autobiographical, psychological, and sexual content. Kusama is also a published novelist and poet, and has created notable work in film and fashion design. Major retrospectives of her work have been held at the Museum of Modern Art and Tate Modern, whilst in 2008 Christies New York sold a work by her for $5.1 million, a record for a living female artist Born in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture as the fourth child in a prosperous and conservative family,[4] whose wealth was derived from the management of wholesale seed nurseries,[5] Kusama has experienced hallucinations and severe obsessive thoughts since childhood, often of a suicidal nature. She claims that as a small child she suffered severe physical abuse by her mother.[6] In 1948, she left home to enter senior class at Kyoto Municipal School of Arts and Crafts, where she studied Nihonga painting, a rigorous formal style developed during the Meiji period; she graduated the following year.[7] She hated the rigidities of the master-disciple system where students were supposed to imbibe tradition through the sensei. “When I think of my life in Kyoto,” she is quoted, “I feel like vomiting.”[8] [edit]Early success in Japan: 1950–1956 By 1950, Kusama was depicting abstracted natural forms in watercolor, gouache and oil, primarily on paper. She began covering surfaces (walls, floors, canvases, and later, household objects and naked assistants) with the polka dots that would become a trademark of her work. The vast fields of polka dots, or "infinity nets," as she called them, were taken directly from her hallucinations. The earliest recorded work in which she incorporated these dots was a drawing in 1939 at age 10, in which the image of a Japanese woman in a kimono, presumed to be the artist's mother, is covered and obliterated by spots.[9] Her first series of large-scale, sometimes more than 30 ft-long canvas paintings,[10] Infinity Nets, were entirely covered in a sequence of nets and dots that alluded to hallucinatory visions. In the early 1960s Kusama began to cover items such as ladders, shoes and chairs with white phallic protrusions.[11] Despite the micromanaged intricacy of the drawings, she turned them out fast and in bulk, establishing a rhythm of productivity she still maintains. She established other habits too, like having herself routinely photographed with new work.[12] Since 1963, Kusama has continued her series of Mirror/Infinity rooms. In these complex installations, purpose-built rooms lined with mirrored glass contain scores of neon coloured balls, hanging at various heights above the viewer. Standing inside on a small platform, light is repeatedly reflected off the mirrored surfaces to create the illusion of a never-ending space.[13] [edit]New York City: 1957–1972 After living in Tokyo and France, Kusama left Japan at the age of 27 for the United States. In 1957 she moved to Seattle, where she stayed for a year[14] before moving on to New York City, following correspondence with Georgia O'Keeffe in which she became interested in joining the limelight in the city.[15] During her time in the U.S., she quickly established her reputation as a leader in the avant-garde movement. In 1961 she moved her studio into the same building as Donald Judd and sculptor Eva Hesse; Hesse became a close friend. During the following years, she was enormously productive, and by 1966, she was experimenting with room-size, freestanding installations that incorporated mirrors, lights, and piped-in music. She counted Judd and Joseph Cornell among her friends and supporters. However, she did not profit financially from her work. Around this time, Kusama was hospitalised regularly from overwork, and O’Keeffe convinced her own dealer Edith Herbert to purchase several works in order to help Kusama stave off financial hardship.[16] Kusama organized outlandish happenings in conspicuous spots like Central Park and the Brooklyn Bridge, often involving nudity and designed to protest the Vietnam War. In one, she wrote an open letter to Richard Nixon offering to have sex with him if he would stop the Vietnam war.[17] Between 1967 and 1969 she concentrated on performances held with the maximum publicity, usually involving Kusama painting polka dots on her naked performers, as in the Grand Orgy to Awaken the Dead at the MOMA (1969), which took place at the Sculpture Garden of the Museum of Modern Art.[18] In 1968, Kusama presided over the happening Homosexual Wedding at the Church of Self-obliteration in 33 Walker Street in New York, and performed alongside Fleetwood Mac and Country Joe and the Fish at the Fillmore East, New York City.[19] She opened naked painting studios and a gay social club called the Kusama ’Omophile Kompany (kok).[20] In 1966, Kusama first participated in the 33rd Venice Biennale. Her Narcissus Garden comprised hundreds of mirrored spheres outdoors in what she called a 'kinetic carpet'. As soon as the piece was installed on a lawn outside the Italian pavilion, Kusama, dressed in a golden kimono,[21] began selling each individual sphere for 1,200 lire ($2), until the Biennale organisers put an end to her enterprise. Perhaps one of Kusama's most notorious works, Narcissus Garden was as much about the promotion of the artist through the media as it was an opportunity to offer a critique of the mechanisation and commodification of the art market. Various versions of Narcissus Garden have been presented worldwide venues including Le Consortium, Dijon, 2000; Kunstverein Braunschweig, 2003; as part of the Whitney Biennial in Central Park, New York in 2004; and at the Jardin de Tuileries in Paris, 2010.[22] During her time in New York, Kusama had a decade-long sexless relationship with the American artist Joseph Cornell, Kusama's only recorded romantic attachment to date. [edit]Return to Japan: 1973–present Yayoi Kusama's Ascension of Polka Dots on the Trees at the Singapore Biennale 2006 on Orchard Road, Singapore. In 1973, Kusama returned to Japan in ill health, where she began writing shockingly visceral and surrealistic novels, short stories, and poetry. Kusama checked herself into the Seiwa Hospital for the Mentally Ill and eventually took up permanent residence. She has been living at the hospital since, by choice. Her studio, where she has continued to produce work since the mid-1970s, is a short distance from the hospital in Shinjuku, Tokyo.[23] Kusama is often quoted as saying: "If it were not for art, I would have killed myself a long time ago."[24] She continued to paint, but now in high-colored acrylics on canvas, on an amped-up scale.[25] Yayoi Kusama said about her 1954 painting titled Flower (D.S.P.S), One day I was looking at the red flower patterns of the tablecloth on a table, and when I looked up I saw the same pattern covering the ceiling, the windows and the walls, and finally all over the room, my body and the universe. I felt as if I had begun to self-obliterate, to revolve in the infinity of endless time and the absoluteness of space, and be reduced to nothingness. As I realized it was actually happening and not just in my imagination, I was frightened. I knew I had to run away lest I should be deprived of my life by the spell of the red flowers. I ran desperately up the stairs. The steps below me began to fall apart and I fell down the stairs straining my ankle.[citation needed] Another quote of hers: "...a polka-dot has the form of the sun, which is a symbol of the energy of the whole world and our living life, and also the form of the moon, which is calm. Round, soft, colorful, senseless and unknowing. Polka-dots become movement... Polka dots are a way to infinity."[26] Her organically abstract paintings of one or two colors (the Infinity Nets series), which she began upon arriving in New York, garnered comparisons to the work of Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Barnett Newman. When she left New York she was practically forgotten as an artist until the late 1980s and 1990s, when a number of retrospectives revived international interest.[27] Following the success of the Japanese pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 1993 – a dazzling mirrored room filled with small pumpkin sculptures in which she resided in color-coordinated magician's attire – Kusama went on to produce a huge, yellow pumpkin sculpture covered with an optical pattern of black spots. The pumpkin came to represent for her a kind of alter-ego or self-portrait.[28] Kusama's later installation I'm Here, but Nothing, (2000–2008) is a simply furnished room consisting of table and chairs, place settings and bottles, armchairs and rugs, however its walls are tattooed with hundreds of fluorescent polka dots glowing in the UV light. The result is an endless infinite space where the self and everything in the room is obliterated.[29] The multi-part floating work Guidepost to the New Space, a series of rounded “humps” in fire-engine red with white polka dots, was displayed in Pandanus Lake. [edit]Works [edit]Writing In 1977, Kusama published a book of poems and paintings entitled 7. One year later, her first novel Manhattan Suicide Addict appeared. Between 1983 and 1990, she finished the novels The Hustler’s Grotto of Christopher Street (1983), The Burning of St Mark’s Church (1985), Between Heaven and Earth (1988), Woodstock Phallus Cutter (1988), Aching Chandelier (1989), Double Suicide at Sakuragazuka (1989), and Angels in Cape Cod (1990), alongside several issues of the magazine S&M Sniper in collaboration with photographer Nobuyoshi Araki.[30] [edit]Film In 1968, the film “Kusama’s Self-Obliteration” which Kusama produced and starred in won a prize at the Fourth International Experimental Film Competition in Belgium and the Second Maryland Film Festival and the second prize at the Ann Arbor Film Festival. In 1991, Kusama starred in the film Tokyo Decadence, written and directed by Ryu Murakami, and in 1993, she collaborated with British musician Peter Gabriel on an installation in Yokohama.[31] Red Pumpkin (2006), Naoshima [edit]Fashion In 1968, Kusama established Kusama Fashion Company Ltd., and began selling avantgarde fashion in the "Kusama Corner" at Bloomingdales.[32] In 2009, Kusama designed a handbag-shaped cell phone called C-top, and My Doggie Ring-Ring, an accompanying dog-shaped holder, for a limited edition of Japan’s mobile communication giant KDDI Corporation’s “iida“ brand.[33] In 2011, Kusama created artwork for six limited-edition lipglosses from Lancôme.[34] That same year, she worked with Marc Jacobs (who visited her studio in Japan in 2006) on a line of Louis Vuitton products, including leather goods, ready-to-wear, accessories, shoes, watches, and jewelry.[35] [edit]Commissions Narcissus Garden (2009), Instituto Inhotim To date, Kusama has completed several major outdoor sculptural commissions, mostly in the form of brightly hued monstrous plants and flowers, for public and private institutions including Pumpkin (1994) for the Fukuoka Municipal Museum of Art; The Visionary Flowers (2002) for the Matsumoto City Museum of Art; Tsumari in Bloom (2003) for Matsudai Station, Niigata; Tulipes de Shangri-La (2003) for Euralille in Lille, France; Pumpkin (2006) at Bunka-mura on Benesse Island of Naoshima; Hello, Anyang with Love (2007) for Pyeonghwa Park, Anyang; and The Hymn of Life: Tulips (2007) for the Beverly Gardens Park in Los Angeles.[36] In 1998, she realized a mural for the hallway of the Gare do Oriente subway station in Lisbon. Alongside these monumental works, she has produced smaller scale outdoor pieces including Key-Chan and Ryu-Chan, a pair of dotted dogs. All the outdoor works are cast in highly durable fiberglass-reinforced plastic, then painted in urethane to glossy perfection.[37] In 2010, Kusama designed a Town Sneaker-model bus, which she titled Mizutama Ranbu (Wild Polka Dot Dance) and whose route travels through her home town of Matsumoto.[38] In 2011, she was commissioned to design the front cover of millions of pocket London Underground maps; the result is entitled Polka Dots Festival in London (2011). Coinciding with an exhibition of the artist's work at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 2012, a 120-foot reproduction of Kusama's painting Yellow Trees (1994) covered a condominium building under construction in New York's Meatpacking District.[39] That same year, Kusama conceived her floor installation Thousands of Eyes as a commission for the new Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law, Brisbane.[40] [edit]Exhibitions Repetitive Vision (1996) installation at Mattress Factory Art Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania In 1959, Kusama had her first solo exhibition in New York at the Brata Gallery, an artist's co-op. She showed a series of white net paintings which were enthusiastically reviewed by Donald Judd (both Judd and Frank Stella then acquired paintings from the show).[41] Kusama has since exhibited work with, among others, Claes Oldenburg, Andy Warhol, and Jasper Johns. Exhibiting alongside European artists including Lucio Fontana, Pol Bury, Otto Piene, and Gunther Uecker, in 1962 she was the only female artist to take part in the widely acclaimed 'Nul' (Zero) international group exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.[42] She represented Japan at the Venice Biennale in 1993, and in 1998–1999 a major retrospective exhibition of her work toured the U.S. and Japan. Major exhibitions of her work include Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art, Fukuoka, Japan (1987); Center for International Contemporary Arts, New York (1989); "Love Forever: Yayoi Kusama,1958–1969", LACMA, 1998 (traveling to Museum of Modern Art, New York, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis and Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo), 1998–99; Le Consortium, Dijon, 2000 (traveled to Maison de la Culture du Japon, Paris; Kunsthallen Brandts, Odense, Denmark; Les Abattoirs, Toulouse; Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna; and Artsonje Center, Seoul, 2001–2003); "KUSAMATRIX", Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, 2004 (traveling to Art Park Museum of Contemporary Art, Sapporo Art Park, Hokkaido); "Eternity – Modernity", National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (touring Japan), 2004–2005; and "The Mirrored Years", Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, 2008 (traveling to Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, and City Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand, 2009). In August 2010, Kusama exhibited at the Aichi Triennale 2010 [1], Nagoya. Her works are exhibited inside the Aichi Arts Center, out of the center and Toyota car polka dot project. As of July 2011, several of Kusama's most intimate works are on display at the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid, Spain. As part of FINA Festival 2007, Kusama created Guidepost to the New Space, a vibrant outdoor installation for Birrarung Marr beside the Yarra River in Melbourne. In 2009, the Guideposts were re-installed at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, this time displayed as floating “humps” on a lake.[43] An exhibition of Kusama'a work opened at the Tate Modern in London on February 9, 2012.[44] Described as 'akin to being suspended in a beautiful cosmos gazing at infinite worlds, or like a tiny dot of fluoresecent plankton in an ocean of glowing microscopic life',[45] the exhibition features work from Kusama's entire career. [edit]Collections Kusama's work is in the collections of leading museums throughout the world, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Tate Modern, London; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Centre Pompidou, Paris; and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. [edit]Recognition Yayoi Kusama's retrospective exhibition at Tate Modern, London in early 2012. Kusama has received numerous awards, including the Asahi Prize (2001); Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2003); and the National Lifetime Achievement Awards, the Order of the Rising Sun (2006). In October 2006, Yayoi Kusama became the first Japanese woman to receive the Praemium Imperiale, one of Japan’s most prestigious prizes for internationally recognized artists.[46] [edit]Art market Kusama's work has performed strongly at auction: top prices for her work are for paintings from the late 1950s and early 1960s. As of 2012, her work has the highest turnover of any living woman artist.[47] In November 2008, Christie’s New York sold a 1959 white "Infinity Net" painting formerly owned by Donald Judd,[48] No. 2, for $5.1 million, then a record for a living female artist.[49] In comparison, the highest price for a sculpture from her New York years is £72,500 ($147,687), fetched by the 1965 wool, pasta, paint and hanger assemblage Golden Macaroni Jacket at Sotheby’s London in October 2007. A 2006 acrylic on fiberglass-reinforced plastic pumpkin earned $264,000, the top price for one of her sculptures, also at Sotheby’s in 2007[50] In the 1960s, Beatrice Perry's Gres Gallery played an important role in establishing Kusama's career in the United States. Ota Fine Arts, Kusama’s longtime Tokyo dealer, has worked with the artist since the 1980s.[51] Since 2007, Kusama is also represented by Gagosian Gallery and Victoria Miro Gallery; before moving to Gagosian, she had been with Robert Miller Gallery, New York.[52] [edit]In popular culture Superchunk, an American indie band, included a song called "Art Class (Song for Yayoi Kusama)" on its Here's to Shutting Up album. Yoko Ono cites Kusama as an influence. The recently built Matsumoto Performing Art Center in her hometown Matsumoto, designed by Toyo Ito, has an entirely dotted façade, likely influenced by her works.[original research?] She is mentioned in the lyrics of the Le Tigre song Hot Topic. [edit]Bibliography Yayoi Kusama, Infinity Net: The Autobiogrphy of Yayoi Kusama, 2011, English, Translated by Ralph McCarthy, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A., ISBN 978-0-226-46498-5. Jo Applin, "Resisting Infinity", Yayoi Kusama, exch. cat., Victoria Miro Gallery, London, 2008 Izumi Nakajima, "Yayoi Kusama between Abstraction and Pathology". In: Griselda Pollock (ed.), Psychoanalysis and the Image. London: Routledge, 2006. "Collection of Print Works: Yayoi Kusama, 1974–2004", Japanese/English, Abe Corporation, Tokyo Japan. "Eternity-Modernity: Yayoi Kusama", 2005, English/Japanese, Bijutsu Shuppan-sha Ltd, Tokyo, Japan. "Manhattan Suicide Addict: Yayoi Kusama", 2005, French, Les Presses du Reel, Dijon, France. "Kusamatrix", 2004, English/Japanese, Kadokawa Shoten, Tokyo. "Yayoi Kusama Furniture by graf: decorative mode no.3", 2003, Seigensha Art Publishing, Inc, Kyoto, Japan. "Yayoi Kusama", 2003, German, Kunsthalle wien, Vienna, Austria. "Infinity Nets", 2002, Japanese, Sakuhinsha, Tokyo, Japan. "Yayoi Kusama", 2001, French, Les Press du Reel Janvier, Dijon, France. "Yayoi Kusama", 2000, English, Phaidon Press Ltd, London, UK. "Love Forever: Yayoi Kusama, 1958–1968", Los Angeles County Museum of Art 1998, Lynn Zelevansky, Laura Hoptman, Yayoi Kusama "Violet Obsession", 1998, English, Wandering Mind Books, Berkeley, California, U.S.A. "Hustlers Grotto", 1998, English, Wandering Mind Books, Berkeley, California, U.S.A. J. F. Rodenbeck, "Yayoi Kusama: Surface, Stitch, Skin". In: Catherine de Zegher (ed.), Inside the Visible. The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston & MIT Press, 1996. "Yayoi Kusama Print Works", 1992, Abe Corporation, Tokyo, Japan. "Yayoi Kusama: Driving Image", 1986, Parco shuppan, Tokyo, Japan. "A Book of Poems and Paintings", 1977, Japan Edition Art, Tokyo, Japan. Judy B. Cutler, "Narcissus, Narcosis, Neurosis: The Visions of Yayoi Kusama". In: Hirsh, Jennie, and Wallace, Isabelle D., eds. Contemporary Art and Classical Myth. Farnham: Ashgate, 2011 — with Yayoi Kusama at Louis Vuitton NA. pocket funk, louisville kentucky, organ jazz, jon hammond, yayoi kusama, loui vuitton, 9 west 57th street, La Vieille Russie, Radio TV Show san francisco, city hall, pocket funk, b3 organ, late rent session men, jon hammond, local 6, musicians union, ascap, blues, jazz