Richard Holmes

Ironically, Gene "Jug" Ammons tended to be critical of organists; he was quoted as saying that "organ players don't know any changes." However, as critical the Chicago tenor saxman might have been of organists - most of them, anyway - he did some of his best work in their presence. When you united Ammons with Jack McDuff, Johnny "Hammond" Smith and other B-3 masters in the '60s, the sparks would fly. They certainly fly on this excellent album, which finds Ammons and Richard "Groove" Holmes co-leading a soul-jazz/hard bop organ combo that also includes guitarist Gene Edwards and drummer Leroy Henderson…

Talkin’ about playing bass! Richard “Groove” Holmes was a master at this particular aspect of Hammond jazz. Live date Onsaya Joy finds him locking in spontaneously with Orville J. Saunders II’s guitar solo and ‘walkin’ as if supporting Fresh-era Sly Stone on a Fender bass guitar on both the title track and Horace Silver’s Song For My Father. His command of the bass pedals is a highlight of this album. The rock beat of drummer Thomas Washington Jr. is less enamouring. With all due respect, one would wish for a more delicate and experienced approach. Sweet Georgia Brown has a ferocious tempo that outdoes Jimmy Smith’s short distance runner at Club Baby Grand. And make no bones about it, the man handles it eloquently, comping competently and soloing as if a hellhound’s on his trail.

Revered in soul-jazz circles, Richard "Groove" Holmes was an unapologetically swinging Jimmy Smith admirer who could effortlessly move from the grittiest of blues to the most sentimental of ballads. A very accessible, straightforward, and warm player, Holmes was especially popular in the black community and had been well respected on the Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey circuit by the time he signed with Pacific Jazz in the early '60s. He started receiving national attention by recording with such greats as Ben Webster and Gene Ammons. Best known for his hit 1965 version of "Misty," Holmes engaged in some inspired organ battles with Jimmy McGriff in the early '70s before turning to electric keyboards and fusion-ish material a few years later. The organ was Holmes' priority in the mid- to late '80s, when he recorded for Muse (he also had stints throughout his career with Prestige Records and Groove Merchant).