Niacin's John Novello: The Contemporary King of Hammond Organ

The sound of the Hammond organ was a mainstay of rock in the 1970's, from Procol Harum to the Spencer Davis Group, the majesty of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Jon Lord, the sometimes ridiculous Rick Wakeman, Uriah Heep.

It dissapeared with the death of the first wave of prog, replaced by more sythesisers and computers, but is being single handedly reborn with the great high-energy rock fusion band Niacin.

Niacon formed in 1996, named after the B-3 vitamin and the B-3 Hammond organ, with the organ played by John Novello who name-drops Vanilla Fudge, Edgar Winter, Billy Preston, Greg Allman, Al Cooper, and Jan Hammer as his inspiration.

His co-pilot's have some pretty amazing music credentials:

The drummer is Dennis Chambers, a man who seems to have played with everyone: Steely Dan, Santana, Parliament, John McLaughlin, he's known for his ability to play 'in the pocket', which reads as it sounds when you think of funk.

Bass Guitar is supplied by Billy Sheehan, honored many times by Guitar Player Magazine. He's one-time member of glam-metal band Talas, played with Steve Vai for David Lee Roth, guested for metal-fusion band Planet-X and lots more

Rock Revival Recommends: Virtuosos Collaborate Three Incredible Albums

I've been spreading my wings abit over the past few weeks, listening to some albums that depart a little from rock, albums that demonstrate the sheer brilliance of what can happen when virtuosos collaborate, mostly in the jazz or jazz-rock arena

1. The Rite of Strings (1995) by virtuosi Al Di Meola (guitar), Stanley Clarke (bass) & Jean-Luc Ponty (electric violin). Each are heroes in their own right but this album is one of the best things I have heard in a long time; it's chilled, it's quite beautiful, it's all acoustic

2. Out Louder (2006) by Medeski, Martin, Schofield and Wood. M,M, and W are a jazz/funk/rock trio who team up with one of the best guitarists there has ever been, John Schofield.

3. Organik (2005) by Niacin (Dennis Chambers on drums, Billy Sheehan on Guitar, John Novello on B3 Organ. This album distills the old B3 sound, bottles it, shakes it up.... you get what I mean....

Check them out !
Images: Gai Saber/Indirecto

Who Loves Niacin ? Reclaiming the Hammond Organ For Rock

The sound of the Hammond organ was a mainstay of rock in the 1970's, from Procol Harum to the Spencer Davis Group, the majesty of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Jon Lord, the sometimes ridiculous Rick Wakeman, Uriah Heep.

It dissapeared with the death of the first wave of prog, replaced by more sythesisers and computers, but is being single handedly reborn with the great high-energy rock fusion band Niacin.

Niacon formed in 1996, named after the B-3 vitamin and the B-3 Hammond organ, with the organ played by John Novello who name-drops Vanilla Fudge, Edgar Winter, Billy Preston, Greg Allman, Al Cooper, and Jan Hammer as his inspiration.

His co-pilot's have some pretty amazing music credentials:

The drummer is Dennis Chambers, a man who seems to have played with everyone: Steely Dan, Santana, Parliament, John McLaughlin, he's known for his ability to play 'in the pocket', which reads as it sounds when you think of funk.

Bass Guitar is supplied by Billy Sheehan, honored many times by Guitar Player Magazine. He's one-time member of glam-metal band Talas, played with Steve Vai for David Lee Roth, guested for metal-fusion band Planet-X and lots more

Check out their sixth album, their most adventurous, Oraganik, released in 2005.

Image: Magna Carta