Richard Holmes (organist) explained
| Richard "Groove" Holmes |
| Background: | non_vocal_instrumentalist |
| Birth Name: | Richard Arnold Holmes |
| Birth Date: | 2 May 1931 |
| Birth Place: | Camden, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Death Place: | St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Instrument: | Organ |
| Years Active: | 1961–1991 |
Richard Arnold "Groove" Holmes (May 2, 1931 – June 29, 1991) was an American jazz organist who performed in the hard bop and soul jazz genre.[1] He is best known for his 1965 recording of "Misty".[2]
Career
Holmes's first album, on Pacific Jazz with guest Ben Webster, was recorded in March 1961.[1] He recorded many albums for Pacific Jazz, Prestige, Groove Merchant, and Muse, many of them with Houston Person.[2]
He died of a heart attack after battling prostate cancer, having performed his last concerts in a wheelchair.[2] One of his last gigs was at the 1991 Chicago Blues Festival with his longtime friend, singer Jimmy Witherspoon.
Discography
As leader
- "Groove" (Les McCann Presents the Dynamic Jazz Organ of Richard "Groove" Holmes) [also released as ''That Healin' Feelin' ''] (Pacific Jazz, 1961) – with Ben Webster
- Groovin' with Jug (Pacific Jazz, 1961) – with Gene Ammons
- Somethin' Special (Pacific Jazz, 1962) – with Les McCann
- After Hours (Pacific Jazz, 1961–1962)
- Tell It Like It Tis (Pacific Jazz, 1961–1962 [rel. 1966])
- Book of the Blues Vol. 1 (Warner Bros., 1964) – with Onzy Matthews' orchestra [note: reissued on Groove Hut (#66707) in 2009]
- A Bowl of Soul (Loma/WB, 1966 [rel. 1967]) – with Onzy Matthews' orchestra [note: reissued on Groove Hut (#66707) in 2009]
- Blues For Spoon And Groove (Surrey, 1965) – with Jimmy Witherspoon [reissued as ''Groovin' and Spoonin' '' on Olympic/Everest in 1973]
- Soul Message (Prestige, 1965; CD reissue: OJC, 1988) [note: includes the original "full–length" version (6:00) of "[[Misty (song)|Misty]]"]
- Living Soul (Recorded Live! at Count Basie's) (Prestige, 1966)
- On Basie's Bandstand [live] (Prestige, 1966 [rel. 2003])
- Soul Mist! (Prestige, 1966 [rel. 1970])
- Misty (Prestige, 1965–1966; CD reissue: OJC, 1992)
- Spicy! (Prestige, 1966)
- Super Soul (Prestige, 1967) – with Richard Evans
- Get Up & Get It! (Prestige, 1967)
- Soul Power! (Prestige, 1967)
- The Groover! (Prestige, 1968)
- That Healin' Feelin' (Prestige, 1968) – with Rusty Bryant
- Welcome Home (World Pacific, 1968)
- Workin' on a Groovy Thing (World Pacific, 1968)
- X–77: Richard "Groove" Holmes Recorded Live at the Lighthouse (World Pacific, 1969)
- Come Together (World Pacific, 1970) – with Ernie Watts
- Comin' on Home (Blue Note, 1971)
- American Pie (Groove Merchant, 1972)
- Night Glider (Groove Merchant, 1973)
- Giants of the Organ Come Together (Groove Merchant, 1973) – with Jimmy McGriff
- Giants of the Organ in Concert (Groove Merchant, 1973) – with Jimmy McGriff
- New Groove (Groove Merchant, 1974)
- Onsaya Joy [live] (Flying Dutchman, 1975)
- Six Million Dollar Man (Flying Dutchman, 1975)
- I'm in the Mood for Love (Flying Dutchman, 1976)
- Shippin' Out (Muse, 1977)
- Good Vibrations (Muse, 1977 [rel. 1980]) – with Houston Person, Bob DeVos, Idris Muhammad
- Dancing in the Sun (Versatile, 1978)
- Star Wars/Close Encounters (Versatile, 1978)
- Broadway (Muse, 1980; reissue: 32 Jazz, 1998) – with Houston Person
- Swedish Lullaby (Sison, 1984)
- Blues All Day Long (Muse, 1988; reissue: 32 Jazz, 1999) – with Cecil Bridgewater, Houston Person, Jimmy Ponder
- African Encounter (Muse, 1988)
- Hot Tat (Muse, 1989 [rel. 1991]) – with Cecil Bridgewater, Houston Person, Jimmy Ponder
LP/CD compilations
- Richard "Groove" Holmes: Jazz Milestone Series (Pacific Jazz, 1966) (compilation of Pacific Jazz material)
- The Best of Richard "Groove" Holmes (Prestige, 1969) (compilation of Prestige material)
- The Best of Richard "Groove" Holmes: For Beautiful People (Prestige, 1970) (another compilation of Prestige material)
- Hunk–a–Funk (Groove Merchant, 1975) (compilation of Night Glider + New Groove)
- Supa Cookin' (Groove Merchant, 1975) – with Jimmy McGriff (compilation of Giants of the Organ Come Together + Giants of the Organ in Concert)
- Groovin' With Groove (LRC [Lester Radio Corporation], 1994) (compilation of Groove Merchant albums: American Pie, Night Glider, New Groove)
- Blue Groove (Prestige, 1994) (compilation of Get Up & Get It! + Soul Mist!)
- After Hours (Pacific Jazz, 1996) (compilation of After Hours + Tell It Like It Is)
- Legends of Acid Jazz: Richard "Groove" Holmes (Prestige, 1997) (compilation of The Groover! + That Healin' Feelin)
- Groove's Groove (32 Jazz, 1998) (compilation of Muse albums: Shippin' Out, Good Vibrations, Broadway, Blues All Day Long)
- Legends of Acid Jazz: Richard "Groove" Holmes – Spicy (Prestige, 1999) (compilation of Living Soul + Spicy!)
- The Best of the Pacific Jazz Years (Pacific Jazz/EMI, 2001) (compilation of Pacific Jazz material)
- Timeless: Richard "Groove" Holmes (Savoy Jazz/Denon, 2003) (compilation of Muse material)
- Super Soul (Prestige, 2004) (compilation of Soul Power! + Super Soul)
As sideman
With Earl Bostic
- Jazz As I Feel It (King, 1963; reissued as Complete Quintet Recordings on Lone Hill Jazz in 2006) – with Joe Pass A New Sound (King, 1964; reissued as Complete Quintet Recordings on Lone Hill Jazz in 2006) – with Joe Pass
With Bumble Bee Slim
- Back in Town (Pacific Jazz, 1962)
With Willis Jackson
- In Chateauneuf-du-Pape 1980 [also released as ''Ya Understand Me?''] (Disques Black And Blue, 1980; Muse, 1984; reissued as Live On Stage (The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions) on Black & Blue in 2003 with 3 bonus tracks)
With Eric Kloss
With Les McCann
With Lou Rawls
- Black and Blue (Capitol, 1963)
With Dakota Staton
With Gerald Wilson
External links
Notes and References
- Book: The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Colin Larkin. Colin Larkin (writer). Virgin Books. 1997. Concise. 1-85227-745-9. 615.
- Web site: Henderson. Alex. Richard "Groove" Holmes. AllMusic. 14 May 2018.
