Jack McDuff, The Honeydripper, 1961
with Jimmy Forrest and Grant Green
Prestige 7199


One of the very best "stops 'n' reed" albums is organist Jack McDuff's The Honeydripper with Jimmy Forrest on tenor sax.
  
It was the third and last album that McDuff and Forrest recorded together. The Honeydripper in February 1961 nailed the sound. It was a quartet date (with Ben Dixon on drums) and remains McDuff and Forrest's finest summit. 

By the time 1961 rolled around, Forrest and McDuff were solid jazz-soul players. Four of the six tracks on The Honeydripper are magnificent blues that give both artists plenty of room to work out lines. The bonus here is Grant Green, whose solos and comp lines give the album extra energy.

The Honey Dripper (as the original song was known) has an interesting history. The song was written by Joe Liggins in the early 1940s. It was recorded by Liggins in March 1945 on two sides of a 78 rpm and became a hit "race record," remaining at No. 1 for 18 weeks. The Honey Dripper is often credited as heavily influencing the development of R&B and early Rock 'n' Roll. The tune is based on Shortnin' Bread, and Liggins' words played off the title's slang meaning—a guy who was a big-time charmer. When McDuff and Forrest took on the song in 1961, they updated it with a funky backbeat.

The standards on the album are I Want a Little Girl and Mr. Lucky, and both are treated as blowing tunes. Mr. Lucky in particular features McDuff's swirling technique on the keyboards leavened with plenty of vibrato. Forrest, for his part, plays the perfect foil with lines that resolve beautifully. 

The Honeydripper is one of the finest organ-sax combo albums ever recorded.




JACK McDUFF

The Honeydripper 1961

CD / 2006 / Remastered  / 320Kbps

 

Tracklist:
1. Whap!
2. I Want A Little Girl
3. The Honeydripper
4. Dink’s Blues
5. Mr. Lucky
6. Blues And Tonic



Personnel:
Jack McDuff, Hammond B3 organ
Jimmy Forrest, tenor sax
Grant Green, guitar
Ben Dixon, drums


Recorded at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on February 3, 1961.



The Honey Dripper
Shaken, not stirred.

:)