01	Teardrops From My Eyes						02:02
	02	Tobacco Road						02:59
	03	The Shadow Of Your Smile						03:52
	04	Can't Get Satisfied						05:11
	05	Blowin' In The Wind						02:39
	06	And The Angels Sing						04:12
	07	This Bitter Earth						02:36
	08	Alexander's Ragtime Band						05:57
	09	Wade In The Water						04:39
	10	Snap Back Jack						04:52
	11	Mush Melon						04:45
	12	Summer Samba						05:12
	13	Do It Now						05:30
	14	Strolling Blues						08:16
	15	Pleasant Moments						06:30
	16	Mutt & Jeff						04:36

This album, released in 2000, combines two former 1966 albums by Brother Jack McDuff:

"Tobacco Road", and "Do It Now"

Tobacco Road
Date of Release Aug 22, 1966+Aug 23, 1966 (recording)
Styles Soul-Jazz

Brother Jack McDuff recorded an enormous number of albums during the '60s, so it can be difficult to figure out where to start digging a little deeper into his output (which Hammond B-3 fans will definitely want to do). 1967's Tobacco Road stands out from the pack for a couple of reasons. First, unlike many of his groove-centric albums, it's heavy on standards and pop/rock tunes (seven of nine cuts), which make for excellent matches with McDuff's highly melodic, piano-influenced style. What's more, about half of the album finds McDuff leading a large ten-piece ensemble arranged and conducted by J.J. Jackson, including a soulful horn section that sounds straight out of Memphis or Muscle Shoals (though this was recorded at Chess studios in Chicago). McDuff himself handles the arrangements on the rest of the material, which is done in a guitar/sax/drums quartet. The LP's style is fairly unified, though - no matter what format, the tunes are given fantastically funked-up treatments that sound surprisingly natural. And these aren't grooves where everyone just settles back and stays in the pocket; McDuff attacks the arrangements with wildly funky rhythms and solos, and there's a polyrhythmic sense of interplay that recalls the best Southern soul. Arguably the most distinctive track is a cool, grooving quartet version of "The Shadow of Your Smile," complete with snaky bass line and airy flute solos from Danny Turner. Unfortunately, none of the tracks are all that long, in keeping with the jukebox/radio orientation of McDuff's Atlantic period, but that won't prevent soul-jazz fans from thoroughly enjoying Tobacco Road. - Steve Huey

1. Teardrops from My Eyes (Toombs) - 2:04
2. Tobacco Road (Loudermilk) - 2:56
3. The Shadow of Your Smile (Mandel/Webster) - 3:52
4. Can't Get Satisfied (McDuff) - 5:11
5. Blowin' in the Wind (Dylan) - 2:39
6. And the Angels Sing (Elman/Mercer) - 4:11
7. This Bitter Earth (Otis) - 2:36
8. Alexander's Ragtime Band (Berlin) - 5:55
9. Wade in the Water (McDuff) - 4:36

Red Holloway - Sax (Tenor)
Joe Dukes - Drums
J.J. Jackson - Arranger, Conductor
Frederick Berry - Trumpet
Bobby Christian - Percussion, Vibraphone
Roland Faulkner - Guitar
Lew Futterman - Producer
King Kolax - Trumpet
Jack McDuff - Organ, Arranger, Organ (Hammond), Vocals
Tom Reed - Liner Notes
Lonnie Simmons - Sax (Baritone)
Danny Turner - Flute, Sax (Alto), Sax (Tenor)
John Watson - Trombone
Loring Eutemey - Design
Peter Whorf - Cover Photo

1967 Atlantic 1265
1967 LP Atlantic 1472



Do It Now!
Date of Release Dec 15, 1966
Styles Soul-Jazz

AMG REVIEW: After a long string of Prestige recordings, organist Jack McDuff recorded a few LPs for Atlantic (all of which are currently out of print) in a similar soul-jazz style. The only change was that the length of the tunes tended to fall into the potential radio airplay range of four to six minutes. McDuff and his regular group of the period (Leo Johnson and Danny Turner on reeds, underrated guitarist Melvin Sparks, and drummer Ray Appleton) swing their way through five of McDuff's originals and two obscurities with plenty of spirit, if not a great deal of originality. - Scott Yanow

1. Do It Now (McDuff)
2. Strolling Blues (McDuff)
3. Summer Samba (Samba de Verao)
4. Mush Melon (McDuff)
5. Mutt and Jeff
6. Pleasent Moments
7. Snap Back Jack (McDuff)

Melvin Sparks - Guitar
Ray Appleton - Drums
Leo Johnson - Flute, Sax (Tenor)
Ray Lucas - Drums
Jack McDuff - Organ
Danny Turner - Flute, Sax (Alto), Sax (Tenor)

1966 Atlantic 1484
LP Altantic 1484