Heavyweight
Jimmy McGriff
Organ and Blues Band Plays The Worm
Produced by Sonny Lester
Solid State STEREO SS 18045
A Division of United Artists
1968
Jimmy McGriff - Organ
Mel Lewis & Grady Tate - Drums
Thornel Schwartz - Guitar
Fars Theus - Tenor Sax
Robert Ashton - Baritone Sax
Danny Turner - Alto Sax
Blue Mitchell - Trumpet
Bob Bushnell - Fender Bass
From the inside cover: No Guided Musical Tour, No Opinionated Dissecting of each individual cut, just a few words about the Music and the Man. - Oh yes, and in addition to that a few authoritative "words of advice" in the event that you are about to listen to this record for the first time.
If you would like to hear the recording in its entirely without getting hung up on one cut, contrary to general procedure I suggest that you not start with cut 1, side 1 especially if the younger set is about.
You see that's where I started and in a matter of minutes I felt somewhat like a modern day, female Pied Piper. How so? Well, the afternoon that I received the dub I came home with the intentions of listening to it, all of it. However it didn't work out quite that way. I had a teenager visiting from Philadelphia who at the time was sitting outside on the front steps along with two of her friends.
I let the arm of the recorder rest in the groove of cut I, side 1 and in just seconds they came running in (or danced in) I'm not quite sure which, it all happened so fast.
Hey Viv, what's that?
It's called the Worm and It's by Jimmy McGriff. The Worm?
Um huh.
Sounds great, could we hear it again? Sure.
Needless to say, being the soft hearted person that I am I heard and enjoyed the sound of The Worm exactly six times before in my own sweet way I showed them the door so that I could get on with my listening.
So you're not a teenager, for that matter you can't even do the twist let alone the Tighten Up or whatever it is. -You like your sounds a little heavier, well keep going there's something in this album to fit every taste, even the most discriminating try (Heavy Weight) an up tempo tune with a big band setting ornamented by Jimmy's brilliant organ improvisations and a melodic trumpet solo.
Flip your record over and delight in McGriffs soft pretty approach to (Girl Talk), you'll most likely find yourself humming the familiar tune and if by now you're ready to Tighten Up there's cut three on side two (Blue Juice), which for some reason reminds me of high heel sneekers. You never heard of it:
Well if you're an old timer (over 30) you're sure to remember (Take the A Train) and to show still another facet of his versatility Jimmy does it with a fresh, new, easy yet stimulating approach. In fact, listen to the entire album. It displays quite tastefully the flexibility of Mr. James Harrill McGriff.
So you're not a teenager, for that matter you can't even do the twist let alone the Tighten Up or whatever it is. -You like your sounds a little heavier, well keep going there's something in this album to fit every taste, even the most discriminating try (Heavy Weight) an up tempo tune with a big band setting ornamented by Jimmy's brilliant organ improvisations and a melodic trumpet solo.
Flip your record over and delight in McGriffs soft pretty approach to (Girl Talk), you'll most likely find yourself humming the familiar tune and if by now you're ready to Tighten Up there's cut three on side two (Blue Juice), which for some reason reminds me of high heel sneekers. You never heard of it:
Well if you're an old timer (over 30) you're sure to remember (Take the A Train) and to show still another facet of his versatility Jimmy does it with a fresh, new, easy yet stimulating approach. In fact, listen to the entire album. It displays quite tastefully the flexibility of Mr. James Harrill McGriff.
If you're a jazz buff you're aware of the fact that the "City of Brotherly Love" fondly called Philly by native Philadelphians has contributed much to the Music World, in particular in the Jazz Idiom and one of its exponents is the young man that we're talking about now.
Jimmy began his musical career at the very early age of five. He started with piano, later decided that it would be the organ, and in the course of time began writing to add to his credits; he also sings. A vastly talented organist he always plays to a full house, and why not, he's an exceptional performer. He soared into the limelight in 1962 and hasn't let up since. Though greatly inspired by Jimmy Smith, James Harrill McGriff's style is quite definitely his own.
With today's musical stretch being so great, going from Good and Bad Rock to Good and Bad Jazz, Mr. McGriff seems to be able to cover a wide range without using musical tricks or fads, just good sound structural playing.
Allow yourself to be entertained by the versatility of this great organist, pat your feet, dance, clap your hands, reminisce, or just listen. – Viv Roundtree WLIB-FM New York
Jimmy began his musical career at the very early age of five. He started with piano, later decided that it would be the organ, and in the course of time began writing to add to his credits; he also sings. A vastly talented organist he always plays to a full house, and why not, he's an exceptional performer. He soared into the limelight in 1962 and hasn't let up since. Though greatly inspired by Jimmy Smith, James Harrill McGriff's style is quite definitely his own.
With today's musical stretch being so great, going from Good and Bad Rock to Good and Bad Jazz, Mr. McGriff seems to be able to cover a wide range without using musical tricks or fads, just good sound structural playing.
Allow yourself to be entertained by the versatility of this great organist, pat your feet, dance, clap your hands, reminisce, or just listen. – Viv Roundtree WLIB-FM New York
Keep Loose
Heavyweight
Think
Lock It Up
Girl Talk
Blue Juice
Take The A Train
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