McDuff's Groove Machine With Green and Forrest
McDuff locks into a deep pocket with Green's guitar and Forrest's tenor, just swinging hard.
The Honeydripper captures Jack McDuff in his element — the organ trio stripped down and focused, no filler. Grant Green on guitar and Jimmy Forrest on saxophone complete the lineup, and what matters is how these three lock together. McDuff had already found his sound by this point, that rolling, soulful Hammond B3 approach that sits somewhere between funk and bebop. Green and Forrest aren't afterthoughts; they push back, trade space, and keep the whole thing moving forward instead of letting it become a organ showcase.
What makes this record work is its directness. There's no pretense here, no attempt to be anything other than what it is — working musicians playing together in a studio, finding grooves and riding them. The interplay between Green's lean, blues-informed guitar lines and Forrest's warm tenor sax gives McDuff's organ something to react against. It's the sound of players who know their roles and aren't wasting time proving anything.
For listeners new to McDuff, this sits comfortably within his catalogue as a solid example of his group work. It's not a peak or a turning point, but it's never forgettable either. If you're curious about hard-swinging organ trio jazz from the early sixties, this is a good place to start. If you're already deep in McDuff's work, this holds up just fine alongside his other Prestige recordings from the same era.
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More by Jack McDuff
All 29 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
