Ike Stubblefield

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Ike Stubblefield was born in Toledo, Ohio, June 7th 1952, and at age 3 was already reaching for the piano. He was soon playing his big sister's piano lessons by ear, a sign of his talent to come. Ike is a musician's musician, best known for being a modern master of the Hammond B3 organ, "he's like a preying mantis when he plays with his hands and his feet."

[edit] Musical Career

Ike Stubblefield started his career in 1968 playing keyboards with the Motown Review greats like The Four Tops, Martha Reeves, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Rare Earth. Getting back to his roots on Hammond B3 organ in 1970 and with his vast understanding of music and feel, Ike Stubblefield performed live on stage from 1970-1975 with George Benson, B.B. King, Ike and Tina Turner, Curtis Mayfield, Al Green, Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, The Jerry Garcia Band, Johnny Adams, Bobby Caldwell, Boz Scaggs, Esther Phillips and The Pointer Sisters, to name a few. During that time, he lived in San Francisco, New York and London.

From 1976-1988 Ike worked as a studio musician, composer, songwriter and producer with such artists as Quincy Jones, Phil Spector, Jim Capaldi, Wendy Waldman, Larry Lee, Michael O’Hara, Allan Rich, Tom Whitlock, Allan Blazek, Bill Szymczyk, Giorgio Moroder, Tracie Spencer and many more. He also worked scoring music for films and T.V.: Best of the Best (1989) with Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones and Sally Kirkland, as well as Summer Job, in addition to commercials and countless shows for the BBC and CBC.

In 1990, Ike moved to Vancouver, Canada and helped start a great music scene with The Purple Onion, a huge two-story warehouse club with three separate music venue rooms, where he performed with his band, Is Not Was, and booked the rooms with other top Canadian and international artists. The Purple Onion is still going strong today. In 1995, he moved to Seattle, re-forming his band, Is Not Was, a Hammond B3 organ quartet, that performed at Jazz Alley and other main event venues throughout Seattle and Portland.

Ike decided to move back to his roots - Toledo and Detroit – in 1997 to help out the local music scene. He opened a club called Yikes Supper Club in his Toledo hometown, where he brought all of his years of experience together. He called on his pals to help launch it, including Rodney Dangerfield, who came for the grand opening. During its first year, organ greats Jack McDuff, Joey DeFrancesco and Jimmy McGriff, as well as such other stellar performers as Jenna Mammina and Dave McMurray performed at the club.

In 2001, after running a club and trying to stay active in the music business became a bit too much, he moved to Atlanta, where he found a home at Café 290, a jazz hot spot in Sandy Springs. Bringing the Hammond B3 sound back to Atlanta, Ike was greeted with open arms, performing at The Variety Playhouse, The Roxy, The Dogwood Festival, and working with Sonny Emory, Sam Skelton, Count M'Butu, The Derek Trucks Band, Jeff Sipe, Caroline Aiken, Jimmy Herring, Col. Bruce Hampton, The Codetalkers, Francine Reed and Susan Tedeschi.

In 2004, Ike went back to Europe for an extended tour of Germany, Spain, France and England as well as recording with and producing various artists throughout Europe. He returned to Atlanta in 2005 and was inducted into the city’s downtown Hard Rock Café location’s Hall of Fame with the first Hammond B3 on display on a wall in any Hard Rock Café world-wide. He also filled in for Billy Preston on organ during Eric Clapton’s winter European tour.

In 2005, Ike also met David Neel, owner of a new club called The Blue Room, located in the Buckhead area of Atlanta. The two soon joined forces to create the only Hammond B3 venue on the East Coast outside of New York City to showcase the lost art of the Hammond B3 organ. The Blue Room features live music Monday through Saturday, with the official grand opening on March 24th and 25th featuring legendary drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie and the Groove Masters (Reuben Wilson on Hammond B3 organ and Grant Green Jr. on guitar). Ike and David also created an "All Star Hit" (jam session) at The Blue Room on Monday nights, where Hammond B3 meets grand piano on a full back line stage, where all styles of music are welcome, and old school networking can help bring the music scene in Atlanta closer together.

Ike Stubblefield is truly keeping the Hammond B3 organ sound alive in Atlanta, and is currently busy recording his new Latin/Jazz/Funk project together with German artist Roland Peil on percussion, Bernard Purdie on drums, Fred Vigdor on sax, Bill Summers on percussion, Takana Miyamoto on Fender Rhodes piano, Grant Green, Jr. on Guitar, Bernard Purdie on Drums and other guest artists, which is slated for release in May, 2007.

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