The remaster of Jack McDuff's hard swinging 1961 album The Honeydripper was overseen by Rudy Van Gelder himself, adding to the Concord/Prestige catalog the same treatment Van Gelder had done for Blue Note.
The date featured the big tenor Jimmy Forrest, drummer Ben Dixon, and Grant Green on guitar in his recording debut.
Green not only held his own with McDuff on the title track, "Dink's Blues," and "Blues and Tonic," but he plays gorgeous fills and chord voicings in Henry Mancini's "I Want a Little Girl." Green was always more than a sideman as this date attests, and though he was part of the rhythm section, his playing is a standout on this date.
McDuff was already in full possession of his voice as an organist, and his hard bop leanings began to subside here as he embraced a more soulful approach, no doubt informed by the effect Jimmy Smith was having on jazz with his crossover.
This is an excellent date and should be picked up by anyone interested in McDuff as a great place to start, or for any serious collector because of the gorgeous sound of the remaster itself.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whap!Jack McDuff | Jack McDuff | Play | 04:26 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 2 | I Want a Little GirlMurray Mencher, Billy Moll | Jack McDuff | Play | 06:47 | 15 MB | 41 MB |
| 3 | The HoneydripperJoe Liggins | Jack McDuff | Play | 08:14 | 18 MB | 52 MB |
| 4 | Dink's BluesJack McDuff | Jack McDuff | Play | 07:59 | 18 MB | 49 MB |
| 5 | Mr. LuckyHenry Mancini | Jack McDuff | Play | 05:03 | 11 MB | 31 MB |
| 6 | Blues and TonicJack McDuff | Jack McDuff | Play | 05:02 | 11 MB | 31 MB |
| 37 mins | 85 MB | |||||
| 37 mins | 236 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rikka Arnold | Project Assistant |
| 2 | Phil DeLancie | Digital Remastering |
| 3 | Ben Dixon | Drums |
| 4 | Esmond Edwards | Producer, Supervisor |
| 5 | Jimmy Forrest | Guest Artist, Sax (Tenor) |
| 6 | Joe Goldberg | Liner Notes |
| 7 | Grant Green | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 8 | Terri Hinte | Project Assistant |
| 9 | Stuart Kremsky | Production Assistant, Research |
| 10 | Joe Liggins | Composer |
| 11 | Henry Mancini | Composer |
| 12 | Jack McDuff | Composer, Organ, Organ (Hammond), Primary Artist |
| 13 | Murray Mencher | Composer |
| 14 | Billy Moll | Composer |
| 15 | Nick Phillips | Reissue Producer |
| 16 | Rudy Van Gelder | Engineer, Remastering |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |