Jazz Articles about Straight Up

The Stacie McGregor Quintet: Straight Up

by Jerry D'Souza
January 10, 2004

Stacie McGregor has been part of the music scene in Toronto in several capacities since the 1980s. This is her first jazz recording as leader on which the band plays her own original material. She recruits some good musicians to assist her, a perfect cast for mainstream jazz. And McGregor keeps her excursions short: the longest it takes for her and her band to make a statement is just under six minutes.

Most of McGregor’s tunes come off ...

Straight Up: Jimmy McGriff

by Ed Kopp
December 1, 1998

Jimmy McGriff considers himself a blues organist, not a jazzbo. Regardless of the label, McGriff is one of the most soulful B3 organ players alive, a verity he proves yet again on this fine release. Straight Up features two of my favorite tenor saxmen, the great David “Fathead" Newman and the elegant Frank Wess. Factor in guitarist Rodney Jones, the underrated guitarist Wayne Boyd, and veteran skinman Bernard Purdie, and you have yourself a soul-jazz summit.“Smooth" ...