The Filthy Six drop high voltage homage to Jack McDuff ‘Jack attack’
Grammy-winning trumpeter Nick Etwell and his incendiary soul jazz/funk sextet The Filthy Six return with new single “Jack Attack”, a rip-roaring homage to organ legend Jack McDuff — the first taste of their forthcoming album Return of The Swagger Junkies: Vol 1., due 27 November 2026 via Color Red.
A short, sharp blast of instrumental soul-jazz, “Jack Attack” is The Filthy Six at their most immediate: greasy Hammond organ, roaring horns, blues-drenched guitar and a rhythm section locked into an irresistible groove. The track draws on the rip-roaring, hard-swinging energy of McDuff’s classic Prestige and Atlantic recordings, while filtering that sound through The Filthy Six’s distinctly modern, live-wire approach.
“Jack McDuff is an absolute favourite of the band, so this one felt like a chance to really go for it”, says Etwell. And go for it they do.
Recorded live to tape, all in one room, “Jack Attack” captures the band without a safety net. Rather than building the track piece by piece in the studio, The Filthy Six embraced the chemistry, imperfections and sheer physical energy of a band playing together in the same room. The result is a recording that feels less like a studio construction and more like stumbling into a late-night soul jazz session at full throttle.
For this particular Filthy workout, the band also augmented its horn section, with band member Mark Brown stepping up to also bring the mighty baritone saxophone into the mix — a rare invitation to the Filthy party that gives the track an extra dose of low-end menace and punch.
“Jack Attack” sets the tone for Return of The Swagger Junkies: Vol 1., an album that finds The Filthy Six digging deeper into the sounds that have always fuelled them: Blue Note and Prestige-era soul jazz, funk, blues and latin boogaloo, delivered through their trademark analogue warmth and explosive live performance.
At the centre of the band is Etwell, whose career has taken him from David Axelrod and Beck to Roger Daltrey, Foo Fighters, Noel Gallagher and Tom Jones, alongside more than a decade on the road with Mumford & Sons. His deep connection to Black American music has also seen him work with artists including Carla Thomas, Ronnie Spector, Mavis Staples, Cyril Neville, Fred Wesley, Jill Scott, Thee Sacred Souls, Antibalas, Jon Cleary and Adrian Quesada.
But with The Filthy Six, Etwell gets to put that musical obsession front and centre.
Since forming, the band have established themselves as one of the UK’s most electrifying soul jazz outfits, releasing three albums through the legendary Acid Jazz label before their current return with this second album for Denver-based Color Red. Their collective musical pedigree stretches across sessions and stages with artists including Amy Winehouse, Jack White, Dionne Warwick, Duran Duran, Mark Ronson, Madness, Robbie Williams, Jamie Cullum and Disclosure.
On “Jack Attack” all of that experience is distilled into a few minutes of pure musical combustion: no vocals, no excess, no studio trickery — just horns, organ, guitar, drums, percussion and a groove that refuses to sit still.
It is, quite simply, The Filthy Six doing what they do best.
“Jack Attack” out digitally on Aug. 28th 2026 via Color Red
