Groovin' with Richard "Groove" Holmes

There are few drummers who fail to impress me...

...OK, as a guitarist, I can perform a different action with each hand - picking and fretting - and occasionally click on an effects pedal with my foot, but a half competent drummer can do four separate things using both hands and both feet. To me, that's practically witchcraft!

However, I think that a good organ player has drummers beaten.

By "good", I mean a player who uses both hands on the keys and both feet on the bass pedals. Of course, instruments which allowed this could once only be found in churches and concert halls and were invariably large and permanent fixtures powered by pressurised air, but the invention of the electronic organ meant that the instrument could be made portable, cheaper and thus more widely used. It also meant that one player could cover two jobs, which had an impact on the logistics of live performance.

Look at my huge organ!

In terms of popular music genres - rock, jazz and pop - the industry standard was, and still is, the Hammond organ, although few players choose to use bass pedals with it nowadays. Most forego bass lines altogether and let the bass player take care of them. Those players who do choose to play bass lines either assign the left hand to the bass register (similar to a piano-based approach) or play bass pedals with their feet. Using the feet leaves both hands free for more complex lines, of course. In effect, an electric organist has the facility to play three keyboards simultaneously.

The modern electric organ is teamed with a special rotary speaker cabinet which gives oscillating sounds and swells. Without this add-on, the organ sounds like a pipe (church) organ, which was the original purpose of the Hammond organ. The generic term "Leslie" is often used for these cabinets since Donald Leslie invented and manufactured them. The full story is well worth reading - especially regarding his clashes with the Hammond company.  Other electric organs were manufactured, with Lowry being the other main brand. Hammonds have drawbars to create different sounds, whilst Lowry organs have switches, although the sounds available are broadly similar. 

The iconic Hammond B3 - as popularised by Jimmy Smith - with Leslie cabinet on the left

Although I'd seen and heard the Hammond electric organ used in bands, it wasn't until I saw the late Alan Haven in concert that I appreciated the skill required to play what was a veritable behemoth even when tamed at the hands (and feet!) of a supremely talented player. Accompanied only by a drummer - the legendary Tony Crombie - Haven sat at his organ like some sort of NASA Mission Control console operative playing both manuals (it was a double keyboard) and moving his whole body as he played bass lines with his feet. Haven played a Lowry at this time, but the mechanics of playing were virtually identical to the Hammond.

 Alan Haven - could that guy move!

Seeing Haven really piqued my interest in jazz organ, and after exploring people like Jimmy Smith, Brother Jack McDuff, Shirley Scott and Wild Bill Davis, I came across a guy called Richard "Groove" Holmes.

Holmes had a very successful 30 year career, but it was his first few early 1960s albums which often featured just him, a guitarist and a drummer that won me over. What was so appealing about his trio work was that it wasn't terribly smooth, as some of his later work was, in common with the increasing number of jazz players who made the move towards more commercial sounds.

Holmes played a Hammond with a rather brash tone and really had to work hard with just a guitar and drums behind him. He often played with guitarist Gene Edwards who adopted quite a dirty sound with plenty of bluesy influences, and the material was largely original compositions or bop favourites, with less reliance on jazz versions of hits and standards. Consequently, Holmes' early albums on the Prestige and Pacific Jazz labels had a very earthy and raw vibe. At times, things could get downright raucous!

Holmes even scored a hit at around this time with "Misty" which, although a common standard, received a thorough overhaul that "desmoothed" it into a fast swing number. The two minute single edit is OK, but the full six minute version sees Holmes employing his trademark sustained notes which went on for several bars as the guitar and drums vamped furiously, with Holmes soloing over the top of everything and taking care of the bottom end! He also sliced and diced little phrases, almost like Monk, and laid them over the rhythm in interesting ways.

Here's Holmes in 1980 in a small group setting and the clip illustrates how he could really fill out the sound and drive the music along.

The first "Groove" Holmes album I heard was 1962's "After Hours" and I was immediately hooked - especially after listening to his version of Ray Charles' "Hallelujah, I Love Her So". Recorded over two sessions - one with Joe Pass and the other with Gene Edwards on guitar duties - it's a heady mix of hard bop covers, blues, originals and a couple of standards. Holmes uses a few different tone settings to create various moods and the trio format allows the players room to let the material breathe. 

Three years later, "Soul Message" was released and Holmes' customary trio of himself, Gene Edwards and Jimmie Smith (not that one!) on drums features on all tracks. This is where you'll find the full version of "Misty" mentioned above and it's a stunning track with Holmes taking chorus after chorus. Edwards is on fine form and he really takes some chances on the cover of Horace Silver's "Song For My Father". 

Very soon, Holmes would be marketed as "soul jazz" and later as "acid jazz". Larger and larger recording ensembles with electric bass players (Holmes didn't need them!) and too many pop covers - "Dreams of an Everyday Housewife" anyone? - diluted what Holmes was capable of doing at his best: cooking up a storm using the simplest of ingredients with punchy material, and not giving too much of a shit if there were a few rough edges showing along the way. It really was all about the groove!

Holmes died in 1991 and even got a name check on the Beastie Boys' 1992 album "Check Your Head" with the track "Groove Holmes", but I haven't heard him referenced by anyone anywhere since, apart from his inclusion on a handful of acid jazz compilation albums and an occasional blog mention. Sure, Jimmy Smith is the name that springs to most people's minds when you mention "jazz organ", but to me it's Richard "Groove" Holmes every time.

I feel sure that Lester the Nightfly would have been a fan...