Jack McDuff: "The Heatin' System"

Brother Jack McDuff!!  He’s made it into a post before, with his ground-breaking “Moon Rapping” LP on Blue Note.  McDuff, in fact, recorded for so many different labels that his discography is fairly convoluted, yet his work for Cadet remains some of his best.  Originally from Champaign, IL, McDuff started out as a bassist but moved on to become one of the earlier jazz organists; in the wake of Jimmy Smith, yes, but years ahead of the late ‘60’s boom lurking on the horizon.  “Heatin’ System” strips away much of the arrangement and orchestration that McDuff had been saddled with on his recordings from this period (’72), and instead places the organ virtuoso in the instrumental company of Chicago and NYC royalty like Phil Upchurch, Sam Jones, Don Myrick (formerly of The Pharaohs, later of EWF), and Derf Walker, among others.  This LP is essentially one long, extended studio jam session, which, when played by musicians like this, means it’s gonna be a helluva ride.  Highlights are the title cut, which moves from swing to soul-jazz to horn-driven funk in the length of its 12+ minutes, as well as the propulsive “Pressure Gauge” and the almost avant-garde, fusion-esque “Radiation.”  In addition to the great organ playing of Brother Jack, there is the jazzy, pocket bass of Phil Upchurch throughout the album, too, for the fanatics out there.  Umm…yeah…I’m one of those Upchurch obsessives, you picked up on that yet?  More on that very, very soon.