The Bird Wave

Recorded in September 1969 at sessions in the New York/New Jersey area, with McGriff on Hammond B-3 organ alongside Horace Ott on electric piano and arrangements, and an ensemble reportedly including Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Stanley Turrentine on tenor saxophone, Chuck Rainey on bass, and Bernard Purdie on drums. The session was produced by Sonny Lester. One of the standout originals on Electric Funk, widely regarded as McGriff's finest album, 'The Bird Wave' exemplified Blue Note's late-1960s push into jazz-funk territory with its deep, hypnotic groove and Horace Ott's supercharged arrangements. The album, released in August 1970, was a defining statement in the organ-led jazz-funk movement and cemented McGriff's reputation as a master of the form beyond his earlier soul-jazz hit-single work. Electric Funk became a foundational crate-digging text, and 'The Bird Wave' has been sampled by hip-hop and electronic producers drawn to its relentless groove and distinctive organ tone, including Us3, who sampled the track directly. The album's reputation has grown steadily through reissue and DJ culture, consistently ranked among the essential Blue Note funk recordings.