Greg Hatza Organization- presented by The New Haven Lounge Series

A native of Reading, Pennsylvania, Greg Hatza's musical instincts came to him as early and as naturally as the ability to walk, and he was picking out blues and boogie woogie tunes on the piano around age four before starting formal lessons shortly thereafter. The Hammond B-3 became his life's obsession as a teenager, when a friend turned him on to records by Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff, Ray Charles, and Johnny Hammond Smith. His first professional gig on the instrument came when he was 16, with the Frankie Scott Trio, where he played around small towns in central Pennsylvania.

Because there were no jazz organ instructors at the time, Greg was largely self-taught , picking up most of his insider knowledge from the organ players at jam sessions at a local club called the Grand Hotel, which was host to groups from Philadelphia and Delaware. It was at the Grand…