Bonus Feature - The Eclectic Sounds of the Mary L. Collins Organ - Jonas Nordwall

As part of the Organ Grinder Documentary Project, Jonas Nordwall sat for an extended interview.
Jonas is the Organist and Artistic Director of Music at First United Methodist Church, Portland, Oregon. He was also very well known as a performer at the Organ Grinder restaurants.
At the end, he gave us a demonstration of the Mary L. Collins organ, which has been rebuilt and enlarged by Rose City Organ Builders Inc. and Zollman Organ Co. Jonas and his son Chris continue to refine its ever expanding tonal palette.
It is a versatile instrument that can play multiple styles of organ music, from classical to theatre.
At the end of the demo, Jonas performs the "Superman March" (this portion was previously published in another video as well). This was always a crowd-pleasing number at the Organ Grinder restaurant.
For more information about the Organ Grinder Documentary project, visit our web site at www.diaphoneproductions.com
Copyright © 2024 Diaphone Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

[@paulj0557tonehead]

Thank you for this demonstration! What a great organ to play for 53++++ years. 🙂 The 1967-1972 Hammond X66 organ's Glockenspiel is unsurpassed electronically anyway. It's pretty much indistinguishable from the real thing and it's 100% transistorized.

[@johnhenryholiday4964]

Absolutely fascinating.... This organ is a rare example of a highly thought out combination of sounds.... Generally doing something like this ends in disaster.... HOWEVER this organ is as far from that as ever imagined..... THIS ORGAN IS MIND BENDINGLY INCREDIBLE....

[@federicoprice2687]

Super man, super! ❤

[@DiaphoneProductions]

Good one. 😀

[@Muksanim2012]

That was the absolute best introduction and demonstration of an organ that I have witnessed. The commentary was excellent and educational. I can appreciate the way you connected your church organ to the community. It is a shame for any church to invest in such a magnificent instrument and not share it with the community. You are the only organist I have heard to explain the requirements with a children's choir. The versatility of your organ certainly provides great opportunities for community involvement. From an organ lover in Virginia.

[@DiaphoneProductions]

Thank you on behalf of the filmmaker. I will forward your wonderful compliment to Jonas.

[@ryano.5149]

I love this philosophy of organ building. I have said for a long time that both Wurlitzer and Aeolian-Skinner were well on the right track with their design philosophies. Some folks fetishize baroque and neo-baroque tracker instruments - and that's fine, but you aren't going to get the same versatility out of one of those, as opposed to what is on display here in this video.

[@TheProsaicCult]

Even Dupre thought the Wanamaker organ was great. Who wouldn't want to get their hands on the "Biggs" Flentrop at Harvard or and number of vintage Skinner instruments or, ideally, both or even a Hammond. This amazing instrument requires room enough to accommodate its 10,000 (?) pipes . Ask Hazel Wright! What a fun video this is for anyone who loves pipe organs. I tip my hat to Walker Tech. whose work has enhanced many lesser funded church organs with great sounds.

[@Organdude]

Love it! Wow. So versatile.

[@user-jo1wj7we7h]

Splendid instrument, splendidly played. And you play in slip-ons! Utterly amazing (I'm a size 13)!

[@DiaphoneProductions]

I will forward your comment to Jonas. Without speaking directly for him, I have heard that his philosophy is for students to practice in regular sneakers, because if you master playing pedals in those, you can play in just about any circumstance.

[@josephstubler4903]

MAGNIFICENT INSTRUMENT

[@russpeck1320]

You are certainly the right man for this organ, Jonas... thank you for giving us a tour of this unique instrument!

[@DiaphoneProductions]

Thanks, I will pass along your comment to Jonas.

[@archdukeofsynth]

Truly a master.

[@jonathankleefield5520]

Hi Jonas- yet another demonstration of your amazingly wide range of musical capabilities, realized on a truly spectacular instrument. It’s my hope, through our mutual dearest friend, Dennis Hedberg, to visit in the near future. Bravo on all counts for a technically superlative recording, as well.

[@DiaphoneProductions]

Thank you for your comment. I have relayed it to Jonas. - Bob R.

[@paulj0557tonehead]

Funny how he refers to the Hammond organ as a "Hammond instrument". It goes back to the patent that Laurens Hammond had to demonstrate and convince a panel of listeners in a blind test whether they are hearing a real organ or not. Apparently him not calling it an organ is his way of saying he wouldn't have been convinced. Well there have been millions of Hammond organs used _as organs_ throughout the world. Let's let you be the judge, watch the video, *Legendary Theater Organists* at the 40 minute mark is an excellent 1930's Paramount Pictures news reel on the all new Hammond Tone Wheel organ. They show two separate tone wheels of the 91 in the organ in all their simplicity being turned by a finger crank. The pickup is a simple wire wound electromagnetic pickup identical to that in an electric guitar, but it is a single pickup in front of each tone wheel, as opposed to the long oval bobbin wrapped with wire on a 6 string electric guitar. So instead of a string vibrating in front of a pickup it is a tone wheel. You will see it in the video, I just thought I'd clarify the bare basics of how the pickup worked since they do not. Note this reel was made before the 1941 invention of the Don Leslie invention of using a rotating baffle to project the sound around the room to imitate theater tremulent ( a combination of TREMOLO, or Amplitude Modulation, and VIBRATO, or Frequency Modulation. So coincidentally AM/FM is Tremulent). By spinning the sound in a projected path around the room two things happen, Volume modulation (AM), and Frequency ( or pitch) Modulation due to the Doppler Effect. Something Don Leslie worked at very successfully was finding ways to scientifically duplicate the effects of a theater tremulent. In 1961 Don Leslie teamed up with Gulbransen organ for their excellent breakthrough "holy grail" *Gulbransen Rialto K Electronic Theater Organ* and created (google it) ISOMONIC SEPARATION. The Leslie 101 speaker introduced the isomonic system. This was followed by the Leslie Space Generator and Isomonic system in the Leslie 102 and 103 cabinets. The owners/service manuals are excellent reads at Captain Foldbacks site. The Lowrey organs models H25, H25R, H25R-1,-2,-3, and -4 (1967-1977) were often paired with these Leslie speakers. Listen to any "Lowrey Eddie Baxter" record and you'll soon be mesmerized by it's sound. Also see 'Rodgers 321C Demo' video, Gulbransen Rialto K, and Eric Lord Conn 652 Demo, and Eric Lord Plays in the Style of Jesse Crawford.

[@cameronmcgehee]

So basically, a theater organ controlled by a classical console?

[@DiaphoneProductions]

I would say it's mainly a classical organ combining types of pipes from multiple styles (baroque to romantic to mid-century American) as well as just enough theatre ranks to pull off a theatre organ or gospel sound. It's really quite versatile (and powerful!)

[@PaulWesleyBowen]

Jonas, you met me years and years ago, once in Minneapolis on the night when the Rodgers trems started acting up. Then again, at Asilomar. Listening to this organ, and your "varieties", those are "thoughts" I have had over the years. I have become known in my "small world" for making theatre organs sound churchy, and church organs sound theatre-like. Loved your demo and glad to know that your organ has variety like usually not found on all the same organ. P-W P.S.: Love the strings, but Kimball are my favorite. Just a thought, though, when you are no longer there at that church, they are going to have a "dickens of a time" trying to find someone who can keep up with your use of it.

[@DiaphoneProductions]

Thank you for your comment. I have relayed it to Jonas. - Bob R.

[@bryceword1768]

The late great Virgil Fox played that first piece!! 🦊