The Hammond organ – it's heavy, it's hard to move, you basically become a lifelong van owner if you play one, and I've often said, "If your back doesn't hurt – it doesn't sound right." But I have to ...

Considering that the Hammond Organ Company built the last B-3 organ some four decades ago, the unwieldy-but-sweet-sounding instrument is enjoying something of a moment in the Bay Area’s jazz scene.

But the powerful, soulful sounds of the B-3 trumped its impracticality. There was no more versatile, expressive electric keyboard instrument made in the 1950s and 60s. And none was more capable of ...