City : Sint Niklaas (Belgio)
Venue : De Casino - Concertzaal
Address : Stationsstraat 104
Time : 11.00

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Eighty years of Hammond organs… that calls for a celebration! De Casino Concertzaal welcomes everyone to the ‘International Hammond Festival’ on Sunday the 17th of May. It was in Chicago in 1935 that Laurens Hammond produced the very first series of electromechanical organs (he had already licensed it in 1934). A few months later, musicians – in the USA and later on across the world – would get to know the legendary mechanical tone wheels, harmonic series, alternating current, additive synthesis, the typical ‘drawbars’, the rotating capacitive vibato and the typical recognizable ‘key click’ . Now, eighty years later, the Hammond organ has gained an unmatched status in the music history.

On stage: funkshows by the British James Taylor Quartet and Italian keyboardist Paolo Apollo Negri’s The Link Quartet, showcases by Belgian pioneer Andre Brasseur (recently featured on the two-part compilation ‘Funky Chicken – Belgian Grooves from the Seventies’) and the immensely crazy Kriminal Hammond Inferno. Various European jazz and bluesensembles (led by Dirk Van der Linden, JJ Louis, Nick Puylaert, Chris Kukulies and others) wukk attain the typical Hammond-sound through their own works and those of legendary others (Jimmy Smith, Cherry Wainer & Don Storer, Ethel Smith, Lenny Dee, Jackie Davis, Dr. Lonnie Smith, …).

And there is even more! ‘Two Tons of History’, a unique exhibition put together by tone wheel-master Benjamin Massy, will be the central highlight of the festival. A wide range of Hammond-models from the forties (BV, CV, …), fifties and sixties (L100, M100, …) and seventies (T400, E112, Piper, …), but also an S6 Chordorgan, the very first A-model from 1935, a BC from 1938 and B3’s and Leslies (251, 122, …) will be displayed. The exhibition offers an unseen insight into the mechanics of tone wheels, Leslie speaker cabinets, amplifier chassis, … . The finest Hammond album covers will also get a place in the spotlight. Benjamin will gladly guide you through it all with a few words of expertise. Do not miss this to-the-point tour!

The ‘International Hammond Festival’ wants to bring together enthusiasts and to inspire those who haven’t made aquaintance with Hammond. Encounters, knowhow and festivities are of most importance during this festival. Do not forget to visit our cocktail bar and food corner (brunch starting at 11 am).