THE HUMMING HAMMOND…Brother Jack McDuff: Ain’t No Sunshine-Live In Seattle

One of the most gospel drenched of the Hammond B3ers, Brother Jack McDuff, is found in concert on  a recently discovered set of tapes and released on Cellar Live. Teamed up with McDuff for this 1972 gig at Seattle’s The Gallery is the double reed front line of Leo Johnson/ts-fl-cl and Dave Young/ts-ss along with Vinnie Corrao/g, Ron Davis/dr and an anonymous trumpeter. After having a long term run with Prestige Records and then a stint with Blue Note, McDuff, like all jazz artists, felt the aftershock of rock and roll as well as Motown, so had to adapt to the times. This album reflects that change in direction, as while still McDuff could pull the plugs and bop with the best as on “Blues 1 & 8”, and getting into a gorgeous mood on “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You”, he brings in the soul train with Corrao providing the wacka-wooka guitar on pieces like an extroverted “Three Blind Mice” and a supercharged “Ain’t No Sunshine”. Johnson and Young have different sounds on the tenor, both going wild and modal on “(Unknown)” and soul stirring on “Broadway”, with McDuff humming like a Hummer on “6:30 In The Morning”. Preaching in polyester.

www.cellarlive.com

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