Richard Holmes (organist)

"Groove Holmes" redirects here. For the song by the Beastie Boys, see Check Your Head.

Richard Arnold "Groove" Holmes (Camden, New Jersey, May 2, 1931 St. Louis, Missouri, June 29, 1991) was an American jazz organist who performed in the hard bop and soul jazz genre. He is best known for his 1965 recording of "Misty",[1] and is considered a precursor of acid jazz.

Holmes' first album, on Pacific Jazz with guest Ben Webster, was recorded in March 1961.

He recorded many albums for Pacific Jazz, Prestige Records, Groove Merchant and Muse Records, many of which featured Houston Person.[1]

Holmes died after a long struggle with prostate cancer, having performed his last concerts in a wheelchair. One of his last gigs was at the 1991 Chicago Blues Festival with his longtime friend, singer Jimmy Witherspoon. A year after his death, the Beastie Boys honoured Holmes by adding an organ-based instrumental track, "Groove Holmes," to their album Check Your Head.

Discography

As leader

Compilations

As sideman

With Willis Jackson

With Eric Kloss

With Les McCann

With Gerald Wilson

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, May 02, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.