The Soulful Drums is both a showcase for one of the all-time most exciting organ groups and a dual memorial tribute to that group's leader, Jack McDuff, and their highly underrated drummer, Joe Dukes. Organist McDuff (born Eugene McDuffy) died, at 74, in January 2001, a few months before this disc was released; drummer Dukes (1935-1994) was the nominal leader on the date that produced The Soulful Drums of Joe Dukes, while Hot Barbeque was issued under McDuff's name. With saxophonist Red Holloway and the prodigious guitarist George Benson (in his early twenties at the time of these crackling performances), they formed the finest of all of McDuff's working bands. Driven by Dukes's propulsive time and patented tom-tom bombardments, the McDuff quartet's mix of jazz, blues, and boogaloos was, from 1962 to 1965 (the year the LP Hot Barbeque was made), a big winner. The quartet also formed the nucleus of the Nomos, whose rocking shuffle "Redwood City" completes this exemplary set.

with George Benson, Joe Dukes, Red Holloway, Tommy Shelvin, Alvin "Red" Tyler