In A Blue Mood

by Ron WynnJimmy McGriff's 1991 release In A Blue Mood ranked as one of his most controversial. McGriff, certainly among the finest wailing and soul-jazz organists ever, spent as much time playing the Kurzweil 1200 synthesizer as he did the Hammond (and it was B-5 rather than the classic B-3), was joined by then-Prince saxophonist Eric Leeds, and also backed on two cuts by vocalists. It was far from late-night soul-jazz at its best; still, McGriff did play a couple of nice solos when he did turn to the organ. "Blue Juice," "The Bird," and "Charlotte" are strong McGriff vehicles; the others were done with style, but often lacked substance.