Text

theses

This thesis is about African American jazz organist Lou Bennett, born in Philadelphia on May 18, 1926. At the beginning of his musical career, he left the United States with his Hammond organ, bound for France, and took Paris by storm, becoming an overnight star on the jazz scene there. In a 1961 poll, he was voted number 1 organist over Jimmy Smith and Wild Bill Davis, and his overall popularity in France was superior to that of Count Basie, Miles Davis, and other American jazz stars. Bennett never succeeded in confirming his success, because of his quasi-obsession with the electronic parts of his organ. He was continually striving to find the perfect sound, and to find as many sounds as he could in order to better express himself. A part of his obsession concerned the bass played with his feet on the pedalboard. Having an astonishing bass-playing technique, he continually searched for ways to better its sound as if to suggest an additional member of the rhythm section. The common practice was for organists to play the bass with their left hand and to move their left foot along with the rhythm of the tune. Bennett was very outspoken about bass-playing, saying that an organist who didn’t play bass with his feet was no organist, but an “organ-player.” However, many of Bennett’s opportunities were ruined because of faulty wiring and breakdowns of his “Bennett Machine” that he had created. Bennett had little interest in financial gain or publicity. He would accept low-paying contracts for as little as a meal and traveling expenses. Often he would repair his organ on stage, interrupting his concert to do so. Having performed all over Europe, he met with a great deal of success in Spain, and built a house there with room for his electronic experiments. His music took priority over his marriage, although he and his wife remained together up until the time of his death. Bennett died on February 10, 1997, leaving a host of admirers, having inspired European organists during his lifetime and is still influencing the art of bass-playing with feet today.

ETD_5584

M.A.

Includes bibliographical references

Includes vita

by Rhoda R. Sampognaro

doi:10.7282/T34F1P1X

ETD graduate

The author owns the copyright to this work.