Electric Funk

Jimmy McGriff

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 28, 1997)
• Original Release Date: January 28, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Blue Note Records
• ASIN: B000005HDD
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #66,298 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Music Reviews

McGriff, often considered jazz's finest organist after Jimmy Smith, always recorded his fair share of R&B and cheese, and considered himself more of a bluesman than a jazzman, anyway. As it is, the cheese has aged better than most of his music and he is no doubt raking in the sampling bucks as tracks such as "The Worm" (not included here) pop up on many a rapper's c.v. Funk used to be about authenticity of the street; now it's about the plushness of the lounge, and this album, originally recorded in 1969 for one of Sonny Lester's many labels, is a cornerstone of blaxploitation/cop show jazz. That, in itself, will tell you whether you'd like it. --D. Strauss

Product Description

Classic reissue from the unsung hero of the Hammond organ. Recorded in 1969 & produced by Sonny Lester. 9 tracks.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Keep it heavy and funky will follow, March 18, 2005

By	Mr. Julian Mascarenhas "Serious about funk" (Herts, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Ahh Jimmy McGriff. The man who at the age of 16, having played the bass, the drums, alto sax and some other instruments, was still trying to find `his' instrument. In the course of looking he had jammed as a session musician with some pretty big names, names he would learn the essentials of moving a crowd from. But it took the invention of the Hammond B3 to finally give Jimmy an instrument that "would push me more than I could push it."

It's worth understanding why he chose this instrument over others in order to understand the Jimmy McGriff style and why it sounds so funky. See the point is the Hammond B3 has the ability, with very few instruments accompanying, to sound like it is part of a much bigger band than it really is. In fact it has the ability to sound like a big band on its own, the type of big band that Count Basie and Duke Ellington used to lead. These were the sounds that really rocked Jimmy's musical world. While the whole jazz scene was being tempted and shocked in equal measures by the rock world, Jimmy kept thinking of that old, big band sound all along. And he carved out his own distinctive style with such an ear. This album's sleeve doesn't list the players, it simply says `unknown' but if Jimmy's earlier bands are anything to go by it would have been recorded by just four musicians - Guitar, Alto or Tenor Sax, Drums and Jimmy plays bass with his foot peddles and/or his left hand and melody with his right - yet the sound is expansive, rich and full bodied for four instruments.

There were other factors why he chose the Hammond. His friend Shirley Scott (famed for a rip roaring version of the Isley Bros' "It's Your Thing") was literally tearing up every joint she played in with her heavy, funky, racey Hammond sounds. Then there were others who were at it: Wild Bill Davis (a pioneer of the organ), Bill Doggett (a massive hit monster in his own right) and Jimmy Smith (who had laid down many, many records by the time this Jimmy released his first) were three for starters. So competition and the scene played a part too.

Another reason is that this instrument brought some of the churchy gospel sound to the music Jimmy would make. This was an instinct which had largely been inspired by Ray Charles, mixing Gospel with R'n'B, or `The Devil's Music' as it was known to the church going communities which many stars hailed from. The Hammond siphoned the sound of the church into the nightclubs and this was part of the feel Jimmy absolutely needed for his compositions. In fact his first recording was a cover of Ray Charles' "I Got A Woman", a song many credit with having pioneered the Gospel meets R'n'B style, which would later become Funk.

So how was Jimmy with his chosen instrument? Well McGriff is not famed for being a great technician, so those expecting Jimmy Smith style flamboyance will not find it. What is to be found though is a precision in composition and inflection which really makes Jimmy McGriff's trademark style - Heavy and Funky Jazz. It's all about being heavy and the funky comes with it. He often played bass twice, with both foot and hand or on two keyboards simultaneously, so that is why it sounded extra heavy. Listening to this album you'll hear how the instruments are actually quite restrained and economise much. Jimmy's Hammond is the benchmark here. Most tracks have him just lightly licking a touch here and there while the rest of the band play the main tune but the effect is bold and instantaneous. His presence expands the sound immeasurably but there isn't a lot to it most of the time. Of course there are moments when he lets it fly like on the funny, funky, racing version of "Spinning Wheel" and that's something to behold given the simultaneous limb playing going on.

The overtly funkier tracks on this album are arranged by Horace Ottis (I think that's his name). These are heavier on the bass and more traditionally funky but it is McGriff's own compositions which are funky in more surprising ways. They sound less like a four piece band for starters: "Spear for Moondog pts 1 & 2" and "Birdwave" for example. These show case the big band touch of Jimmy's and provide hard evidence that Count Basie was both a dear friend and mentor.

Something else worth mentioning is that Jimmy McGriff had released over ten other records by the time "Electric Funk" came out and had been with three other labels before this release. This was his very first recording for Blue Note records and is commonly held as his greatest. This is an outstanding piece of composing and playing owing to all the reasons listed above and has influenced the jazz, funk, hip-hop and reggae world's ever since it first came out. For a man that needed encouragement to get out and play in the early days this is truly accomplished and bold musicianship and very Heavy Electric Funk.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars B3 at it's finest, January 28, 2003

By A Customer

The first time I heard this album I just laughed. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This is some of the funkiest music I've heard. It kind of reminds me of The Meters, but with a horn section and ridiculuous organ, maybe it is the short songs. The guitar licks are nothing special, but the organ makes up for it. The first track starts out a bit slow and it makes you wonder what is going on. Then about mid song the horns kick in, followed my the tremendous roar of Jimmy's hammond b3. When I heard the organ I was floored. Listen to the sample of track 1 and hear for yourself. That sample was enough for me to buy this cd. The rest of the album is just straight funk with Jimmy McGriff just ripping it up over some very tight grooves provided by the rest of the band. The only disappoint I found in the cd was the fact that the songs are short (along with the cd, 30 mins). I really find myself wanting to hear Jimmy and the band jam out for extended periods. More horn solo's would probably have been good too. All things a side, I still rate this 5 stars because of the unbeliable sound of Jimmy McGriff.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You CAN judge this one by its cover, November 13, 2001

By	Michael St John (St. Paul, MN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Recorded in September 1969, with McGriff on organ, Horace Ott on electric piano (also writing the arrangements), and an anonymous band in support. The focus is all on Jimmy; the horns just play background section arrangements that would sound right at home on a Booker T & the MG's record with the Memphis Horns. All that's missing is a great funk guitarist as counterpoint, and maybe a louder bottom from the bass & drums, to really kick the music to the highest level. Booker T. had his Steve Cropper; Jimmy Smith had Arthur Adams on his funky classic ROOT DOWN... so you might feel it when it's all on the organist to play lead on this kind of music.

For me, that's just the difference between 4 and 5 stars. It's still a fun, tight record. Good to put on when you're feeling like a party, or, other days, maybe something that can cheer the blues away.