Jack McDuff - Legends of Acid Jazz (1997)

While these 12 selections were originally released on six different albums between 1965 and 1969, all of them were cut during July 1964: nine at a New York studio session, and three (embellished by Benny Golson big-band arrangements) live at Stockholm. Thus it makes for a thematically coherent compilation, every track featuring a young George Benson on guitar and Joe Dukes on drums; Red Holloway plays tenor sax on all but two songs. It's top-drawer soul-jazz, recommended to those who might find some of McDuff's other releases too homogenous, as his B-3 travels through diverse moods here: the uptempo blues of "Scufflin'," the slow-burning funk of "Our Miss Brooks," R&B/soul in the cover of "I Got a Woman." The closing "Lexington Avenue Line" is the oddest track, though quite a good one, sounding like a movie soundtrack theme with its dramatic strings.


Tracks:

01. Scufflin' (4:53)
02. Au Privave (3:19)
03. Hallelujah Time (3:49)
04. Misconstrued (6:59)
05. Lew's Piece (8:18)
06. Opus de Funk (6:58)
07. Our Miss Brooks (10:30)
08. East of the Sun (West of the Moon) (5:14)
09. I Got a Woman (8:33)
10. Hey Lawdy Mama (4:05)
11. From the Bottom Up (3:47)
12. Lexington Avenue Line (3:27)

Personnel:

Jack McDuff - organ
Red Holloway - tenor saxophone (#1-7,10-12)
George Benson - guitar
Joe Dukes - drums
Recorded in New York (#1-9) and Stockholm in July 1964 (#10-12).