Here is a collection that will appeal to Brother Jack McDuff's fans, old and new--and to anyone with a well-developed taste for soul-jazz, organ style. While The Last Goodun' is a survey course of the organist's peak years at Prestige Records, it's hardly McDuffology 101. Digging deep into his discography from 1959 to 1965, this set draws from nine different albums and presents one of the bosses of the Hammond B-3 (b. Eugene McDuffy; 1926-2001) fronting five different bands. Most are quartets featuring the outstanding guitarists (George Benson, Eddie Diehl, Bill Jennings) and saxophonists (Red Holloway, Harold Vick, with a guest shot by the great tenor man Gene Ammons) that were always key elements of McDuff's considerable popularity, as was the muscled-up drumming of Joe Dukes. Though the menu offers such side dishes as Cole Porter's "Easy to Love," the Basie perennial "9:20 Special," and a sometimes-frantically boppin' blues by the leader called "Twelve Inches Wide," the main course is the blues 'n' soul-saturated grooves that guarantee requests for second helpings.

with Gene Ammons, George Benson, Buster Cooper, Charles Davis, Eddie Diehl, Bobby Donaldson, Joe Dukes, Larry Gales, Red Holloway, Bill Jennings, Wendell Marshall, Blue Mitchell, Montego Joe, Danny Turner, Harold Vick