During the heyday of "soul jazz" (c. 1956-1965), boss tenor man Willis "Gator Tail" Jackson and organist Brother Jack McDuff kept uptown crowds hopping with their straightforwardly burning blend of blues-drenched and gospel-rooted swing. Jackson (1932-1987) had scored an R&B hit in 1952 with "Gator's Groove," while McDuff (b. Eugene McDuffy, 1926; d. 2001) would in the Sixties go on to lead a highly popular group in which a succession of young dynamos, includ… MORE