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), Phil Upchurch and Sam Jones (b) on different tracks, Greg Williams (d) and Frederick “Derf" Walker (cga).
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...
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...
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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