Jack McDuff - Live at Parnell's

2022 release

Every notable jazz reissue has an intriguing backstory, right? Live at Parnell’s, documenting a week of bruising performances by late B-3 organ master Brother Jack McDuff 40 years ago at the titular Seattle nightclub, got its start when Soul Bank label head Greg Boraman came across a jazz organ website run by Scott Hawthorn with MP3s of those shows. The source cassettes, affected by degradation and flutter, also reflected an onstage glitch: There was a rip in the bass woofer of McDuff’s Leslie speaker, resulting in occasional buzzing sounds. Using AI-based technology, engineers remastered the audio for CD, digital, and vinyl formats.

The result, if not exactly history-making, offers an intimate portrait of an artist at full strength, leading guitarist Henry Johnson, saxophonist Danny Wollinski, and drummer Garrick King on a set of music that’s as varied as it is intense. The tunes reflect the range of McDuff’s repertoire. The blues pieces here are among the 15-track collection’s fiercest, with McDuff, Johnson, and Wollinski turning in blistering solos on “Another Real Goodun’,” “Walkin’ the Dog,” and closer “Blues 1 & 8.” Jazz standards are here too: The guitarist and saxophonist harmonize on the theme of “Blues in the Night,” a laidback “Satin Doll” is capped with some creatively used solo space for drummer King, and “A Night in Tunisia” gets a tricky, heavily syncopated intro.

The group also offers takes on “Killer Joe,” “Take the ‘A’ Train,” and “Lover Man.” McDuff’s “Fly Away,” clocking in at more than 14 minutes, is a highlight; a wash of sustained gospel-injected chords lead into multicolor riffs, a jaunty melody, and a series of air-it-out solos, with the leader throwing in a quick quote of “Summertime.” Soul jazz lives.