Brother Jack McDuff - Steppin' Out (1969)

Brother Jack McDuff is a musician who is known and respected throughout the world. Whether it be a nightclub audience in Newark, a concert in Stockholm or just you and your fox in front of the stereo, Brother Jack delivers. When it comes to “sockin' the soul toya", you have to go a long way to cut McDuff.

McDuff's background includes a thorough knowledge of piano and bass and, novrthat I think about it, that is the right kind of education if you want to play organ. Jack made the switch from bass on a permanent basis about fifteen years ago. His career on Prestige is well documented on several levels. Currently among Prestige bestsellers are: The Best Of Brother Jack McDuff/Live! (PR 7703); The Best Of Willis Jackson with Brother Jack McDuff (PR 7702); Brother Jack McDuff Plays For Beautiful People (PR 7596) and Brother Jack McDuff’s Greatest Hits (PR 7481).

McDuff's groups have always been down-to-Earth soul blowing bands. Early groups included Grant Green and Harold Vick while later editions featured Red Holloway, George Benson, Pat Martino and Joe Dukes. Dukes, in fact, has been associated with McDuff since 1961 and that is a long time. But the empathy shows and the interplay of the principals is demonstrated here in every inch of the vinyl grooves.

McDuff starts out this album with the big band sound of Benny Golson. Golson and McDuff have collaborated before—notably on The Dynamic Brother Jack McDuff (PR 7323) and Prelude (PR 7333). The batter provided by Mr. Golson is heavily whipped up into Shortnin’ Bread.

Chicken Feet is the next offering. Those of you who don't know the gastronomy of chicken feet will come to know how groovy they can be if you listen to the musical portrait presented here by Brother Jack McDuff. That's Harold Ousley out front on tenor.

With all this cooking goin' on you know there would have to be a lady in for lunch. The lady?—none other than Our Miss Brooks. This tune was written by Harold Vick and was recorded by another edition of the McDuff quartet on Somethin’ Slick (PR 7265). A lot of whoopin' & hollerin' in front leads to stellar blowing by Red Holloway, George Benson, Joe Dukes and Brother Jack. It seems that the guys know the lady pretty well. Perhaps she is the one who made the Shortnin’ Bread and Chicken Feet.

Side B consists of McDuff originals. The opener is Shaky, a down blues featuring strong work from Jack and especially good fills from K.B. Groovington. Joe Dukes shows, in this trio context, why he is considered a boss drummer for organ bands.

Godiva Brown features the tenor of Harold Vick and the guitar of Grant Green. Contrary to what one might assume by the title, McDuff is not into “nude soul" nor are the changes related to that other lady named Brown. What we have is another straight-ahead McDuff performance. Moody McDuff is a comparatively unique performance. Brother Jack plays the blues in all varieties but the slow, more or less traditional, blues is not often found in his recorded work.

As an addenda to our comments on the music, a word should be said about the guitar stylists present on this date. The style and method of the 1950's is evident in the work of Grant Green and K.B. Groovington while the 1960 sound is more prominent in the playing of George Benson and Pat Martino. The common ground is the blues and each of the men involved fits with Brother Jack. It is a tribute to his broad musical background and his ability to generate feeling.

Brother Jack McDuff, as we were saying a few hundred words ago, has been around. In fact, he “stepped out" some time ago. But on this album you might say McDuff steps in. In with his feet, his head, his hands and his heart.

Notes: Reggie Gibson (August 1969) (Librarian) WLIB-FM, N.Y.C.
Supervision: Lew Futterman (Side A) Esmond Edwards (Side B)

- Источник оцифровки: автор новости (plastinka aka nickhome)
- Тип сохранности винила: G
- Проигрыватель: Victor QL-Y44F
- Картридж (звукосниматель): Goldring Elite
- Предварительный усилитель (фонокорректор): Musical Fidelity MX-VYNL
- АЦП: Tascam UH-7000 (ASIO 2.0)
- Обработка: без обработки
- Формат записи (Bit/kHz): 32 float/192