一位出色的乐队领队和风琴手，也是杰出的编曲者，Jack McDuff是一位相当funk，也灵魂味十足的乐手。他原本是一位贝斯手，曾为Denny Zeitlin以及Joe Farrell担任贝斯的伴奏，在芝加哥与萨克斯风手Johnny Griffin合作. 50年代中期时他自学风琴与钢琴。 50年代后期与60年代初期Willis Jackson的乐团的演出，让他开始被注意。接著他组织自己的乐团，成员有Harold Vick与鼓手Joe Dukes。他雇用吉他手George Benson，在60年代中期是一个很受注意的乐团，制作许多精采的专辑，这一段时间的作品算是他的颠峰时期的作品。 此外在60年代与70年代之间所合作的主要乐手有Joe Henderson、Pat Martino、Jimmy Witherspoon、David "Fathead" Newman、Rahsaan Roland Kirk、Sonny Stitt与Gene Ammons。
by Ron Wynn and Bob Porter
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. McDuffs later groups at Atlantic and Cadet didnt 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 Capn 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.