In Praise of the Hulking 300 lb. Beast -- Part VI

A catalog of women Hammond B-3 players, from the two Shirleys to Akiko and more

To quote Michael Corleone from The Godfather III: “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!” Yes, I had thought that Part V of my ongoing series of Hammond B-3 organ appreciation in all of its glorious manifestations was the finale, that I could move on to something else. But I was recently reminded that I had dropped the ball in my previous five Substack columns by not cataloguing those brilliant women players throughout the years who added significantly to the B-3 canon. Here’s half a dozen:

I suppose it all begins with Shirley Scott. Nicknamed “Queen of the Organ,” the Philadelphia-born Scott grew up with music. Her father operated a jazz club in the basement of the family home and her brother played saxophone. Beginning with piano lessons from the age of eight, she switched to trumpet at the Philadelphia High School for Girls, before returning to piano by the early 1950s. In 1955, she switched over to the organ when she began collaborating with tenor saxophonist Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, eventually gaining national recognition for their 1958 hit, “In the Kitchen.” That same year, Scott released her debut on Prestige, Great Scott!, which included covers of Cole Porter’s “All of You,” Miles Davis’ “Four” and Ray Noble’s “Cherokee,” along with a burning take on the popular samba, “Brazil.”

By the early ‘60s, Scott began playing soul-jazz with saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, who later became her husband. While they toured and recorded nine albums together, including 1961’s Dearly Beloved, 1963’s Never Let Me Go, 1964’s Blue Flames, 1966’s Let It Go and 1969’s Common Touch, she also released a string of solo albums including 1959’s Soul Searching, 1960’s Soul Sister, 1967’s Girl Talk and 1970’s Something and 1973’s Superstition. Scott died of heart failure in 2002 at age 67.

New Jersey native Rhoda Scott, nicknamed “The Barefoot Lady,” grew up in her father’s church, where she began playing organ at the age of seven. “The first thing I did was take my shoes off and work the pedals,” she recalled in an interview. By the age of nine, she had taken over as church organist in her daddy’s congregation. She later studied at the Manhattan School of Music and by age 20 began playing organ in an R&B group. Scott eventually formed her own band and opened for Count Basie at a club in Newark. In 1963, she recorded her first album, Live! at the Key Club, on the Prestige label.

In 1967, Scott moved to France, where she still lives and continues to record at age 87. She has over 40 albums as a leader to her credit, her most recent being 2024’s Fly Me to the Moon on the Black and Blue label. And true to her nickname, she still plays barefoot.

Another Philadelphia native, Trudy Pitts began studying at Temple University and later Juilliard before being hailed as a rising star organist in 1967 on the strength of her debut album that year, Introducing the Fabulous Trudy Pitts, featuring guitarist Pat Martino and her husband Bill “Mr. C.” Carney on drums. That same trio followed later that year with her second Prestige album as a leader, These Blues of Mine. Pitts also appeared on Martino’s 1967 debut as a leader, El Hombre on Prestige.

In the mid ‘70s, she played on three albums by Rahsaan Roland Kirk — Other Folks’ Music, The Return of the 5000 LB. Man and Kirkatron. In 1993, she released a solo piano album, Me Myself and I, and continued to focus on piano in the latter part of her career. Pitts died from pancreatic cancer in December 2010 at age 78.

German organist Barbara Dennerlein emerged on the international jazz scene in the mid ‘80s on the strength of her innovative use of MIDI synth pedals to trigger novel sounds (including deep-toned upright bass samples) from her Hammond B-3 organ. She is also well known for her burning sense of swing and authentic feel for the blues. Born in Munich, Dennerlein began on organ at age 11, playing a Hohner before acquiring a Hammond at age 13. By 14, she was playing concerts and in jazz clubs, often leading her own bands. In 1982, at age 18, she made her first television appearance, billed as “The Organ Tornado from Munich.”

Dennerlein made her first records in the mid ‘80s on her own small label, Bebab, before being signed to Enja Records and releasing her acclaimed Straight Ahead in 1988, followed by Hot Stuff in 1991 and That’s Me in 1992. She jumped to the Verve label in 1995, premiering with Take Off! later that year and following up with 1996’s Junkarooand 2000’s Outhipped. She has since released a string of recordings on her own Bebab label while continuing to tour Europe.

Hailing from Osaka, Akiko Tsuruga established herself on Japan's jazz scene before relocating to New York City in 2001. Mentored by Hammond B-3 organ legend Dr. Lonnie Smith, she began playing with icons like Lou Donaldson and Grady Tate before establishing herself as a leader in her own right on the NYC jazz scene.

An inventive, ebullient player who carried the spirit of elder statesmen and role moderls like Jimmy Smith, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Charles Earland, Jack McDuff and Jimmy McGriff, she made her recording debut as a leader with 2004’s Harlem Drive (featuring Tate on drums). Her 2008 album, NYC Serenade, featured another legendary drummer. Jimmy Cobb. Akiko would later form close partnerships with tenor saxophonist Jerry Weldon, guitarist Eric Johnson and drummer Rudy Petschauer, her band on 2009’s Oriental Express. Her final album was 2019’s Equal Time with guitarist Graham Dechter and drummer Jeff Hamilton. Tsuruga passed away on September 13, 2025, at the age of 58 following a brief illness.

Based in Columbus, Ohio, Linda Dachtyl has been burning up the B-3 since she climbed onto an el-cheapo Sears organ her father bought her at the age of six. Initially inspired by the rock bands she heard at the time that incorporated organ (Rare Earth, Three Dog Night, Santana, Steppenwolf, Lee Michaels, Emerson Lake & Palmer), she got into jazz after acquiring her first Hammond B-3 organ, inspired by such iconic players as Jimmy Smith, Charles Earland, Jimmy McGriff, Groove Holmes and Columbus, Ohio’s own Hank Marr, whom she paid tribute to on her first CD, 2006’s Blue Bop on fellow organist Tony Monaco’s Chicken Coup label (a subsidiary of Summit Records). She followed with 2008’s For Hep Cats and 2015’s A Late One, both on Chicken Coup. Her latest, 2025’s Full Steam Ahead, recorded at her Pterodactyl home studio with husband Cary Dachtyl on drums, features a “Full Steam Ahead” train medley that includes James Moody’s “Last Train From Overbrook” and Gene Ludwig’s “Back on the Track,” along with renditions of Duke Ellington/Juan Tizol’s “Caravan,” Thelonious Monk’s “Think of One” and “Round Midnight,” Vernon Duke’s “April in Paris” and Burt Bacharach’s “Promises, Promises.”

A complete list of names of women Hammond B-3 players (courtesy of B-3 aficionado Pete Fallico) would also have to include: Gloria Coleman, Jane Jarvis, Carla Bley, Amina Claudine Myers, Miki Yamanaka, Midori Ono, Atsuko Hashimoto, Adrienne Fenemor, Bobbie Lee, Bu Pleasant, Cherry Wainer, Dee Dee Ford, Dottie Timberlake, Ethel Smith, Gayle Serdan, Grace Potter, Jocelyn Michelle, Judy Blair, Julia Driessen, Lady Byron, Lady Margaret, Loretta Whyte, Merit Hemmingson, Mindy Canter, Nonoka Nagao, Roberta Piket, Sarah McLawler, Sundra Manning, Vanessa Rodrigues, Leonieke Scheuble, Ana Petrova and Twinkie Clark.

Looks like I may have to get to work on a Part VII.