Rhythm
I know you have not concentrated on rhythm and yet rhythm rules the world. If one thing got off rhythmically, the whole universe would collapse.1 Dr. Barry Harris said it in many of his masterclasses: “Rhythm is King.”
The pianist, most of the times, is part of the band’s rhythm section consisting of piano, sometimes guitar, bass, drums and sometimes percussion. The organist may play with a bass player, but is more often the bassist him or herself. Combined with the usually higher volume of the instrument, that puts the organist and his or her rhythm more to the foreground. On organ, you as a bassist need to lock in with the drummer, but any well-respected jazz musician will tell you that you have to be good that keeping time (tempo), no matter what instrument you play.
The on/off principle and the role of arm weight and finger action on the organ
As written in the Spectrogram section and in the Technical Differences section, the Hammond organ tone is either on or off. When you keep holding a key, it can last forever. At least it lasts until you release your finger from the key. The piano tone eventually dies out, because the longer you hold that key, the less the string will vibrate. The reason to be precise on the piano therefore is the attack of the sound, while on the Hammond is both the attack and release. The release on piano is less obvious.
I found a striking difference between Tony Monaco and Mike LeDonne when it comes to this subject. In Bass & Comp chapter 8 Tony Monaco states: “You don’t smack the keyboard every time you play a note. You press the note and you learn the closer you keep your fingers down towards the keyboard, the more accurate you are, the more precise you are, the less mistakes you make. Right? Same thing with the pedals. If you just kick them like that, that’s just a show piece.”2
Mike LeDonne said exactly the opposite: “Well again, whatever I say is just my own take on things, but to me arm weight does matter. It’s a different sound when you throw your arm into that. It’s all about rhythm. This is just some Mike LeDonne philosophy: to me all rhythm comes not just from your hands but from your whole body. You don’t put as much weight into the organ as into the piano obviously, but some of the physical motions do increase the rhythm that you get out of your lines, that you get out of your effects. Even in your bass. When I used to see Charles Earland or if you ever saw Jack McDuff, it didn’t look like some little spider. Their fingers were really whacking the keys and even their arm. They were putting some arm into the notes, depending on the tempo, so that they would get the right separation of notes to get more rhythm, more quarter note, more swing. So the physicality of playing does make a difference. I think that some will disagree with that, because I know it’s not traditional organ-type talking.”3
At this moment I am leaning more towards Mr. Monaco, because I found being precise in my rhythm fits my playing better and my body responds better to it. There is something to say for Mr. LeDonne’s approach as well, since he has seen the Hammond organ masters do it that way. I am using his approach in my left hand bass playing, because I can really sense and hear a difference in the quarter note and consequently the beat.
When confronting Mr. LeDonne with Mr. Monaco’s take on arm weight and rhythm, he came with an interesting analysis: “I can be perfectly precise because I’m used to being precise, on piano and on organ. I’m not talking about whacking the notes. I’m talking about the physicality. I don’t really know how he (Tony Monaco, author) plays but I do know that he once started out as an accordion player, not a pianist. If you could imagine on accordion how dainty you have to be, so he’s used to playing that way. Very dainty, light movements, but he still gets a lot of rhythm out of his stuff. I’m sure that there’s different strokes for different folks, but for me I just find that those sounds that Jimmy Smith got need some weight to get into the keyboard. If you’re playing bebop on the organ, for instance, and you’re playing complex, harmonic ideas instead of bluesy stuff, you need clarity. It has to be really clear rhythmically. I play it almost like it’s a weighted keyboard. I really lift my fingers and I drop them into place. Not only do i want the rhythm to be pronounced, but I want the clarity of those notes. As far as where the notes end, that sounds like something you don’t have to worry about. That seems crazy because the minute you take your finger off the key, the note ends. It’s not like you have to shape the tone. Basically a three-year-old can sit at the organ and perfectly finish the note.”4
My interview with Ronnie Foster took place later than the one with Mike. He added an interesting point about arm weight. He sees a relationship between the keyboard action and the needed arm weight.
BW: When I go to New York I meet up with Mike LeDonne and he told me a great number of things about what he thinks of piano and organ playing and your story about the weight of the keys of the Fender Rhodes is so funny, because Mike told me when he plays Hammond organ he puts some arm weight in there. Would you do that or would you keep it light?
RF: I wouldn’t do that. I think each instrument has its character. You rather play synth solos on a light keyboard and you wanna play piano on a weighted keyboard.
BW: Yeah, organ also sits in between with those waterfall keys. Not as light as a synth or has heavy as a piano.5
