Pat Bianchi Quartet: Celebrating Jack McDuff

To mark the centennial of the great Brother Jack McDuff, Grammy-nominated organist Pat Bianchi presents a special celebration of the legendary soul jazz pioneer whose distinctive sound helped define the Hammond organ tradition. A leading figure on today's international jazz scene, Pat Bianchi has performed with artists ranging from Pat Martino and Lou Donaldson to Terrace Martin, while developing a style that balances deep respect for the organ tradition with a contemporary musical outlook. A longtime protégé of Joey DeFrancesco, he was nominated for a Grammy Award for his contribution to DeFrancesco's Never Can Say Goodbye and is widely recognised as one of the foremost organists of his generation. This all-star quartet features two musicians with direct links to McDuff's legacy: saxophonist Jerry Weldon and drummer Byron Landham, both of whom toured and recorded with McDuff during his lifetime, as well as with fellow organ legends Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff and Joey DeFrancesco. Guitarist Paul Bollenback completes the quartet. Together, they celebrate the music of one of soul jazz's most influential bandleaders, revisiting the sound that made McDuff a defining figure of the Hammond organ era and helped launch the career of guitarist George Benson.