Between 1968 and 1974, organist Brother Jack McDuff recorded seven albums for Chicago's Cadet label. One of the most interesting of the bunch was The Heatin' System. What made the 1972 double album special was its hip Chicago soul-jazz flavor and the band behind him: Bobby Alston (tp), Don Myrick and David Young (ts,fl), Brother Jack McDuff (org,p,melodica), Marty Roberts (g), Greg Williams (d) and Frederick "Derf" Walker (cga), with Phil Upchurch and Sam Jones (b) on different tracks.
Rather than feature McDuff in a classic organ-combo groove, the album leans heavily on the funky horn arrangements and solos, with McDuff playing off the orchestral bed. It's a sophisticated scene and, unlike most of McDuff's recordings, this one sounds almost like the soundtrack to an early 1970s Blaxploitation detective film that never materialized.
Here's The Heatin' System without ad interruptions...
Other ad-free Backgrounders in my series:
- Zoot Sims Plays Bossa Nova, go here.
- Lee Morgan: Lee-Way, go here.
- Bossa Nova for Swinging Lovers, go here.
- Leon Spencer: Louisiana Slim, go here.
- Bossa Nova Modern Quartet: Bossa Nova Jazz Samba, go here.
- Bill Evans & Luiz Eça: Piano Four Hands, go here.
- Ray Brown Trio: Don't Get Sassy, go here.
- Os Tatuis: Os Tatuis, go here.
- Waltel Branco: Mancini Tambem É Samba, go here.
- Jack Wilson Plays Brazilian Mancini, go here.
- Conjunto Copacabana Bossa: Bossa, go here.
- Ella Fitzgerald: Ella Swings Lightly, go here.
- Charles Earland: Charles Earland, go here.
- Kenny Burrell: Crash! w/ Jack McDuff, go here.
