SONIC REDUCER / CARL HANNI

Jimmy McGriff at the Hammond B-3

By Carl Hanni

Let us now praise Jimmy McGriff. 

The roll call of great jazz organists is finite but full of very large characters with very large talents; Richard "Groove" Holmes, "Brother" Jack McDuff, Johnny Hammond, Charles Earland and of course Jimmy Smith come immediately to mind. But for my $, Jimmy McGriff is top cat, the baddest of the bad, soul brother #1 of the jazz organ.

Jimmy McGriff's reputation and standard tag line posit him being the bluesiest of the great soul-jazz organists of the golden era of the 1960s and ‘70s, and that's a fair assessment. He's definitely brings a hard blues edge to his work that the others all took turns swinging at, but that in no way equals any sort of a narrow focus in McGriff's playing; in truth he was as, or more, diverse than the rest of the Hammond B-3 pack. 

I've only heard a relatively modest amount of McGriff's quite extensive catalogue that dates back to 1963, but have heard enough to know that it's a very great thing indeed. McGriff, who died in 2008, extruded a sense of positivity and flair in his playing that might seems at odds as his status as a blues player unless we've forgotten that playing the blues was/is, after all, about banishing the blues and trying to have a good time doing it. That is, while we're not dragging the line through the harsh, painful bottom end of the blues pond. Like all great bluesmen McGriff could play both sides of the coin, the upside and the downside. If he spent more time on the up, joyful side, well, that's just who he was. His fusion of blues, R&B, soul and jazz remains one of the most refreshing and enjoyable in modern music, sounding vital and very alive several decades after his cut his most famous sides. 

McGriff benefitted from long associations with some cool labels in the ‘60s and ‘70s like Groove Merchant and Solid State, and, later in his career (he died in 2008) with Milestone Records. He also benefitted hugely from his collaborators, especially the producer Sonny Lester who he cut numerous records with. Lester was obviously key to McGriff's polished, inviting sound and overall sonic stylishness. All artists should be so lucky as to have such a solid collaborator; one can only imagine the confidence it would engender, knowing that the guy in the control room has your back.

McGriff cut hot sides with soul-blues belter Junior Parker, with gospel singer Tramaine Hawkins, some cutting sessions with his mentor Groove Holmes and a series of records later in his career with the great sax player Hank Crawford. He also worked with fellow soul-jazz legends David "Fathead" Newman and Bernard "Pretty" Purdie as The Dream Team towards the end of his career. He had hit singles like the early "I Got A Woman," "Kiko" and the super funky "The Worm," and several albums did quite well on the R&B and jazz charts. He played in Buddy Rich's band off and on for a couple of years, fronted some mid-sized big bands and experimented with smoother jazz fusion in the dreaded late ‘70s (the Sargasso Sea of jazz) before dropping that crap and getting funky again. The man had a full, satisfying career. 

When discussing Jimmy McGriff it all eventually circles back to the one thing, the key thing, the thing that lives on; that SOUND, McGriff behind the Hammond B-3, the Jaguar/monster-truck hybrid of organs. One of the greatest sonic contraptions of the 20th century, the B-3 is to organs as the V-8 was to earlier engines; an advanced specimen, capable of great and sometimes terrifying things, dangerous and thrilling in the hands of a master like Jimmy McGriff or others like the afore mentioned Jack McDuff, Jimmy Smith, etc.  Although McGriff came to the organ after playing several other instruments, he was clearly a natural. His playing seems effortless and totally unaffected; he has flow, soul and an endless supply of groove. His mix of soul, blues, jazz, R&B and funk covered a good portion of the bases of what was worth listening to in popular music in the 1960s and ‘70s and on into the ‘90s. McGriff was a man of his times, reflecting back the best of what was in the air and on the street.

Some of own favorite Jimmy McGriff records include A Bag Full of Blues, A Thing to Come By, Jimmy McGriff at the Organ, The Main Squeeze and Soul Organ.

***

You can leave comments below or e-mail them to me directly at modmedia@theriver.com .

Carl Hanni is a music writer, music publicist, disc jockey, book hound and vinyl archivist living in Tucson, AZ. He hosts a monthly concert and film series at The Screening Room in downtown Tucson, and spins records wherever and whenever he can. He believes that in a better (all analog) world all records would be released on vinyl, but takes good music from wherever he finds it--even on CD. He currently writes for Blurt, Tucson Weekly, Goldmine, Examiner.com and (occasionally) Signal To Noise.