When Grammy-nominated American jazz performer Joey DeFrancesco sold his blonde-coloured Hammond B3 organ over eBay to an Australian bidder in 2003, he had one condition.

That it be made available when the Philadelphia-based musician played in Australia.

The buyer, Geoff Williamson, an organ restorer from Gippsland, Victoria, agreed.

That's after he rang the seller to make sure it was actually Joey DeFrancesco.

"A lot of people said to me, 'That's not Joey, that's just somebody pretending to be Joey', but I gave it a go, I rang him up and sure enough it was Joey," Mr Williamson said.

Geoff Williamson bought the blonde organ off DeFrancesco for about $US6,000 ($8,544). ( ABC South East SA: Bec Whetham )

Joey DeFrancesco: the man who brought the jazz organ 'out of hibernation'

As a child, DeFrancesco would play around on his father's Hammond B3. ( Supplied: Gloria DeFrancesco )

If you know jazz or organs, you will know Joey DeFrancesco.

Born in Philadelphia to a prominent jazz organist, at age four DeFrancesco would sit at his father's Hammond for days on end, replicating by ear the complex Jimmy Smith riffs he would hear on vinyl.

For those who don't know Jimmy Smith, he created the jazz organ genre.

"Organ players before Jimmy Smith played it in a traditional style. What Jimmy Smith did is he wanted to play cool jazz, Bebop," Mr Williamson said.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 2 minutes 7 seconds 2 m 7 s A jazz musician, a rare 'blonde' instrument, and a reunion 15 years in the making

"So he worked out how to sound like a double bass player on the left hand … and with the right hand he started playing the chords and the melody and improvising."

While the jazz organ may have died down in the 70s and 80s, Mr Williamson said fans had DeFrancesco to thank for its return.

"Joey hit the scene mid-80s and it just came roaring back, you know, a lot of people started playing jazz organ again.

"He really inspired not just players but the manufacturers to start making organs that sound like the B3, keyboards that sound like the B3. You can't buy a keyboard that doesn't have a Hammond B3 sound."

DeFrancesco (right) has played with many musical greats, including Jimmy Smith (centre). ( Supplied: Gloria DeFrancesco )

DeFrancesco said jazz went into hibernation, and the genre was "quiet".

"When I came on the scene it was like a renaissance of players coming back on the scene and being more strong and people paying more attention to the organ," DeFrancesco said.

A rare export

Manufactured in Chicago until 1975, the Hammond B3 was rarely exported to Australia.

"Generally, the churches bought conservative church cabinet Hammonds so the ones where you don't see the lady organist's legs. But in America they sold a lot of the four-legged Hammonds, the B3," Mr Williamson said.

"That's the iconic Hammond. It's the one used in jazz, it's the one used in soul, pop, rock, blues, funk. It's been used in every genre of popular music."

Geoff Williamson has only taken the blonde organ out of his home on four occasions. ( ABC South East SA: Bec Whetham )

Meet Blondie: one of few blonde organs in the world

America may have had Hammond B3s everywhere, but not blonde-coloured ones.

Which is why Joey DeFrancesco wanted so desperately to add one to his own collection all those years ago.

"Since I was a small child I heard stories [of blonde B3s]. There weren't a lot made. So, I always wanted one just because they were so rare," he said.

DeFrancesco had about 35 organs when he decided to part with Blondie. ( Supplied: Gloria DeFrancesco )

"I had other ones, the dark walnut, the red walnut, the cherry wood … but it was really hard to find these."

When he bought the organ off DeFrancesco, Mr Williamson got in touch with the original restorer to learn more of the organ's history.

"It started its life as a walnut [brown] organ in 1958," he said.

"The guy that bought it two months later moved to Wisconsin. Took it back to the dealer and said, 'I'm having blonde furniture in the house. I want this thing refurbished'."

DeFrancesco and his blonde organ reunited after 15 years

DeFrancesco is in Australia headlining Generations in Jazz, an international schools' competition in Mount Gambier, South Australia.

Mr Williamson cut short a work trip so he could deliver the organ to DeFrancesco himself.

On Tuesday Mr Williamson was in Queensland restoring organs; on Thursday he was in Mount Gambier, South Australia, setting up the organ in the festival's performance tent.

"Cut the trip short to get home in time, unload a couple of organs, load the blonde in, a couple of Leslies [speakers] and get to South Australia," Mr Williamson said.

Mr Williamson makes some final adjustments ahead of the performance. ( ABC South East SA: Bec Whetham )

All worth it for the organ appreciator and technician who is just pleased to see the organ played to its full capabilities.

"He [DeFrancesco] sat down on it, fired it up and started playing it like I couldn't believe … hearing him live on this organ is heart-warming," Mr Williamson said.

It is a special reunion for DeFrancesco, who is playing the organ for the first time in 15 years.

"It feels great, like it's an old friend," he said.

"It's exactly the same, it's just how I remembered it. The way it feels, all my little modifications that are on here, it's just fantastic.

"I didn't know when it was going to happen; it's great to be here."

It's been a reunion 15 years in the making. ( ABC South East SA: Bec Whetham )

For many of the lucky thousands who get to witness DeFrancesco's performance, it will be their first time seeing the jazz organ performed live.

"I think it's one of those musical forms, thanks to people like Joey, that will be carried on," Mr Williamson said.

And just as the jazz organ tradition will be carried on, so will this beloved, blonde Hammond B3.

"I'm just really pleased to have had the opportunity to own this organ," Mr Williamson said.

"I feel like a custodian or a caretaker of the instrument and I'll make sure it goes to the right person when I'm finished with it."