Concord has just released "Brotherly Love," the last recording of the great soul jazz organist Jack McDuff who died in January this year.

McDuff became quite popular in the late '50s with his brand of driving Hammond B-3 organ jazz. He made over 60 recordings in 40 years, contributed to countless other sessions, and toured relentlessly up to last year. His recordings for Prestige in the 1960s reinvested jazz with the honesty of gospel (whence the organ style was borrowed) and the directness of blues.

While Jimmy Smith in the late '50s originated the organ trio format of drums, guitar and the "vitamin B-3," McDuff was one of the funkier and more sophisticated adherents, never afraid to add a bass or sax player to the mix. McDuff's style drew as much from soul and R&B as from be-bop, his technique never wavering from the path of smoothness and clarity. As a bandleader, McDuff was renowned for his high standards, but also for his gracious treatment of sidemen, giving equal soloing time to everyone in the band. Indeed, McDuff "found" many of the great soul jazz players, Grant Green and George Benson, just to mention two.

On "Brotherly Love" McDuff is joined by longtime collaborators Red Holloway on sax and Pat Martino on guitars, who add a refined groove and glowing solos to seven of the nine cuts. The tunes on the CD provide an overview of his better-known workouts, with "Hot Barbecue" and "Rock Candy" receiving especially funky treatment. "Time's Marchin' On," steeped in blues and gospel feeling, pours out powerful, soulful sounds on McDuff's amazing foot-pedaled bass lines, understated chording and great melodic swing.

McDuff was originally a bass player, so he knows just how to anchor a driving beat. His group sound never feels crowded, but swings all the harder for everyone being in the right place at the right time. On the last two (live) cuts, McDuff is joined by Joey DeFrancesco, one of his B-3 organ proteges, where with hindsight we can see the torch passed to a new generation of soul jazz players.