MOON RAPPIN' by JACK MCDUFF

Repress on 180 gramms vinyl of this classic 1970 Blue Note album!“Moon Rappin’” is one of Brother Jack Mcduff’s most ambitious efforts, a loose concept album that finds the organist exploring funky and spacy soundscapes. Unlike most McDuff records, there isn’t a steady groove that flows throughout the record – the album flies into atmospheric territory that isn’t strictly soul jazz, but it’s far from free. In many ways, Moon Rappin’ is a fairly typical album of its time, boasting wah-wah guitars, flutes, spacious reverb, long bluesy vamps, orchestras, and disembodied backing vocals, but it also stands out from the pack in how it offers some excellent improvisations (including a rare piano spotlight on the title track) and unpredictable moments, like the stuttering organ and nearly free interludes on “Made in Sweden”. It’s not strictly funky – it doesn’t have the grit of early Brother Jack records, nor does it swing hard – but it proves that McDuff was as adept in adventurous territory as he was with the groove. This record is well known by the vinyl diggers because of the sample used by A Tribe Called Quest. (courtesy of www.itunes.com)