Jack McDuff turned “Three Blind Mice” into a soulful groove on this live date, a previously unreleased concert from 1973. The Hammond B3 organist had a crack combo at his elbows in the Seattle club, an in-sync ensemble with a pair of saxophonists, an electric guitarist and a drummer keeping time. Each player had his opportunity to honk, wail and solo without breaking rhythm or messing with the momentum. With McDuff, jazz and soul converged, swinging and rocking with harmonic sophistication. He reinvented the melody of Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine,” injecting liveliness without cancelling the melancholy. On the evidence of this two-disc set, it was a hot night in Seattle.
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