We’re sitting down with one of the greats! Organist Larry Goldings is in the house to spin the B3 tracks that shaped him – from Jimmy Smith’s revolutionary runs to Billy Preston’s blending brilliance behind Aretha Franklin. Along the way, Larry breaks down the nuts and bolts (err… drawbars and percs) behind his favorite players, offering expert insights into Larry Young’s pedal-less playing and Ray Charles’ “dry-as-dust” sound. And somewhere in the midst of Larry’s fave five, we get into how to find your own voice (and why it might involve throwing all these great records out the window). Whether you’re chasing that perfect drawbar sound or just here for Hans Groiner’s alter ego, this one will change how you hear the Hammond forever.

In this episode, You’ll Hear:

• Jimmy Smith’s masterful expression pedal comping and turnarounds
• How to build your organ sound through a track like Wild Bill Davis
• Why Larry listens to singers and horn players (it’s all in the breath).
• The power of the organ + guitar combo
• What Larry’s listening to these days

Start your FREE TRIAL to Larry’s new course: Jazz Organ Essentials | Open Studio

Watch Adam’s organ lesson with Larry: Jazz Pianist Has To Learn Organ In 14 Minutes

We’re finally digging into “Voodoo” - D’Angelo’s Grammy-winning album that changed the sound of R&B, soul, and hip-hop forever. And the album a young Adam Maness had on repeat, seriously influencing his playing as well as countless musicians since.
With Questlove’s “Dilla-drag” drumming, Pino Palladino’s funky bass lines, Roy Hargrove’s jazzy horn arrangements, and Charlie Hunter’s chicken-picking guitar, Voodoo is packed with the kind of cross-genre musicality that makes jazz musicians lose their minds.
Twenty-five years later, Voodoo still grooves harder, hits deeper, and sounds more human than many albums of its generation.
In this episode, you’ll hear:

• What makes D’Angelo’s groove so unique (and hard to imitate)
• Isolated tracks, rare demos, and interviews with the artists
• How “Spanish Joint” came together in a single take
• Whether “Feel Like Makin’ Love” tops the Roberta Flack original
• And whether “Voodoo” is even an R&B album at all

ABOUT OPEN STUDIO
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As the premier online jazz education platform, with an ever-expanding course library and 20,000+ members, Open Studio (OS) has everything you need to excel and thrive on your jazz journey.

Featuring everything from beginner to advanced lessons, engaging courses from A-list instructors, step-by-step curriculum, real-time classes and a thriving and incredibly supportive community, OS is the perfect platform to level up your jazz playing, whether you’re a total beginner, or an advanced pro-level improvisor.

You can’t deliver a performance like Shirley Horn’s “Here’s to Life” unless you’ve lived a little – or a lot. It’s an album only an artist with decades of love, loss, and resilience could create. In this episode, we break down Horn’s unmatched ability to accompany herself, the elegance of Johnny Mandel’s string arrangements, and the quiet confidence that defines every track. Whether you’re discovering Shirley Horn for the first time or revisiting a favorite, this episode will leave you hearing her – and your own life – a little differently.

Listen to your favorite YHI jams, original tunes and more: https://osjazz.link/music
Join Open Studio for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs: https://osjazz.link/yhi

You’ll hear:

• Horn’s piano-first vocal approach
• How Miles Davis helped spark her third act
• The brilliance of Johnny Mandel’s orchestrations
• Peter and Adam's tips for arranging for vocalists
• Why this album is 90's jazz at its finest
• and more!