Popularized by Jimmy Smith shortly after Hammond introduced the powerful model in the mid-1950s, the B-3 traffics in soul — especially when coupled with its famous counterpart, the Leslie speaker, ...

The Hammond B3's distinctive sound, however, has its own dedicated fans and the instrument has maintained its place in jazz culture, albeit via newer more compact versions of the original.

Classic Hammond B3s also have a satellite speaker box, called a Leslie, which ensures the organ can be heard when an electric guitarist and a drummer are swinging at full volume.

The now classic Hammond B3 model (and its even larger relation the C3) arrived in 1954, a 425lb beast that needs to be regularly maintained with oil top-ups.

The 425-pound Hammond B3 coupled with a six-foot spinning Leslie speaker produces its distinct sound through a mass of tone wheels whirling in front of electromagnetic pickups. The complicated ...

The Hammond B-3 organ, with its Leslie speaker, is an odd beast, usually associated with the deep dish soul jazz of Jimmy Smith, Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff, Shirley Scott, Don Patterson, Johnny ...

Mine is about 400 pounds, and then there is the Leslie speaker, which is another four hundred pounds. Despite that, with specialized dolly’s, I can actually move it by myself, but it takes about ...

Jones' name is synonymous with the Hammond B3 organ. At 17, he recorded the instrument's anthem, "Green Onions," with his band Booker T and The MG's. Watch him play the song all alone in the NPR ...

The B3 dates to the 1950s, and it has become an object of fascination for a select group of music lovers. Only about 100,000 Hammond B3 organs were built (in 2002, the company rolled out a replica).

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.