1973 · Album
Concert Friday the 13th, Cook County Jail
Recorded 1973, Cook County Jail, Chicago
A Live Session in the County Lockup
McGriff brought his Hammond B3 into Cook County Jail and played straight-ahead soul jazz for an audience with nowhere else to be.
In 1973, Jimmy McGriff took his organ trio into Cook County Jail on a Friday the 13th and recorded what amounts to a straightforward soul-jazz session that has mostly stayed beneath the radar of mainstream jazz discourse. This was not a landmark event that critics seized on immediately, nor a cult record that built mystique over decades. It is simply a functional, energetic live date that captures McGriff doing his reliable thing: pushing the Hammond B3 through uptempo blues and standards with George Freeman on guitar and Marion Booker, Jr. on drums, all of it played for an audience that had an unusually captive and receptive disposition.
The appeal here is modest but real. McGriff was a working organist comfortable in soul-jazz and blues contexts, and there is something direct about a concert with no illusions, no pretense of breaking new ground. Freeman's guitar work is sturdy and unhurried. The rhythm section locks in without flourish. The tunes—covers mostly, played at a clip—move with purpose and swing. If you are drawn to McGriff's Blue Note work or his numerous Atlantic sessions, this is consistent with that catalogue: reliable playing from a musician who understood what an organ could do in a blues or soul setting.
The Cook County Jail setting is noted in the title but not fetishized in the music itself. What you hear is a competent jazz performance in an unusual venue, nothing more. For listeners already familiar with McGriff and content with solid ensemble playing, it is worth a listen. For those seeking a gateway to his discography, start elsewhere—his Blue Note recordings offer more memorable material and better sound. This one is peripheral, a document of a specific date rather than a peak moment.
Who's playing
Mickey Bassdouble bass
Sam Jonesdouble bass
Cedar Waltonelectric piano
George Freemanguitar
O’Donel Levyguitar
Lucky Thompsonsaxophone
Jimmy McGrifforgan
Marion Booker, Jr.drums
Louis Hayesdrums
Where next?
More by Jimmy McGriff
All 38 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
