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A marvelous bandleader and organist as well as capable arranger, "Brother" Jack McDuff has one of the funkiest, most soulful styles of all time on the Hammond B-3. His rock-solid bass lines and blues-drenched solos are balanced by clever, almost pianistic melodies and interesting progressions and phrases. McDuff began as a bassist playing with Denny Zeitlin and Joe Farrell. He studied privately in Cinncinnati and worked with Johnny Griffin in Chicago. He taught himself organ and piano in the mid-'50s, and began gaining attention working with Willis Jackson in the late '50s and early '60s, cutting high caliber soul-jazz dates for Prestige. McDuff made his recording debut as a leader for Prestige in 1960, playing in a studio pickup band with Jimmy Forrest. They made a pair of outstanding albums: Tough Duff and The Honeydripper. McDuff organized his own band the next year, featuring Harold Vick and drummer Joe Dukes. Things took off when McDuff hired a young guitarist named George Benson. They were among the most popular combos of the mid-'60s and made several excellent albums. McDuff's later groups at Atlantic and Cadet didn't equal the level of the Benson band, while later dates for Verve and Cadet were uneven, though generally good. McDuff experimented with electronic keyboards and fusion during the '70s, then in the '80s got back in the groove with the Muse session Cap'n Jack. While his health fluctuated throughout the '90s, McDuff released several discs on the Concord Jazz label before succumbing to heart failure on January 23, 2001, at the age of 74. ~ Ron Wynn and Bob Porter, All Music Guide
MP3 News Breakers: Britney's kid, Rihanna, Jack Black, Panic!
Esquire puts Sean Preston on worst-dressed list; Rihanna eschewing skimpy outfits; Jack Black to host MTV VMAs; ex Panic! At the Disco bassist threatens to sue band.
Toddler son of Britney and K-Fed makes worst-dressed list
That's cold.
Britney and Sean Preston soon after his birth.
Esquire magazine has included Sean Preston, the toddler son of Britney Spears and K-Fed, on its worst-dressed list in its September issue. Not even a year old and with a younger sibling on the way soon, the toddler is often photographed with his mom, one of the music world's biggest magnets for the paparazzi. The list also includes Axl Rose and Marc Anthony among the worst dressed, while soul star John Legend, Australian rocker Nick Cave, Daniel Craig, the new James Bond, Hustle & Flow star Terence Howard, and Brokeback Mountain star Jake Gyllenhaal all made the best-dressed list.
Rihanna wants to tone down racy outfits
Rihanna
Caribbean R&B star Rihanna has said she wants to avoid wearing skimpy outfits and suggestive photo shoots in order to keep the focus on her music, using Alicia Keys as a role model. The singer, whose "SOS" single was tops in the US for several weeks earlier this year, said she recently turned down a topless German magazine shoot. "I don't like to wear things too skimpy," she said. "If I do shorts on the bottom, then it's got to be something very conservative at the top. If it's skimpy at the top, it's got to be long jeans or something. I like to balance it out--I won't do short shorts and short top. That's what I admire so much about Alicia Keys. She became so successful off of just her music. She was really conservative about her style at first."
Jack Black to host VMAs
Jack Black in
Nacho Libre.
Nacho Libre star and Tenacious D singer Jack Black has been tabbed to host the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. Black has been an MTV awards show staple in recent years, hosting the 2002 MTV Movie Awards and performing at the 2000 VMAs with Tenacious D bandmate Kyle Gass. "My plan is to bring the thunder," Black said in a statement. "I've got my top men working on it as we speak, in my thunder laboratory. Radio City Music Hall will never be the same." The event will be broadcast from New York's Radio City Music Hall on August 31 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Panic! At the Disco bassist threatens legal action for royalties
Brent Wilson
Brent Wilson wants to get paid. The former Panic! At the Disco bassist, who was kicked out of the band in May after a "decision that was very tough to make," according to a statement posted on Panic's Web site, said he's been stiffed on royalties from the band's album, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out. Wilson's attorney sent the band a letter giving them 14 days to pay up or they will be sued.
"Basically I want to get what I deserve--my fair percentage from the album," Wilson told MTV. "We sent them the letter as a way of saying, 'Look, if you decide to give me the money I deserve--as it's written out in the contract we drew up--then great. If not, well, we're prepared to go to court.'" The band has previously insisted that Wilson did not play on the record, a claim Wilson refutes.
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