Major Holley
Major Holley | |
---|---|
Born | (1924-07-10)July 10, 1924 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
Died | October 25, 1990(1990-10-25) (aged 66) Maplewood, New Jersey, U.S. |
Genres | Jazz |
Instrument(s) | Upright bass |
Years active | 1940s-1990 |
Major "Mule" Holley Jr. (July 10, 1924 – October 25, 1990)[1][2][3] was an American jazz upright bassist.[4][5]
Early life and education
Holley was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States.[3] He attended the prestigious Cass Technical High School in Detroit.[1] Holley played violin and tuba when young.[3]
Career
He started playing bass while serving in the Navy,[3] playing in the Ships Company A Band at Camp Robert Smalls, which was led by Leonard Bowden and included Clark Terry, and several other musicians recruited from civilian dance bands.[6][7] In the latter half of the 1940s, he played with Dexter Gordon, Charlie Parker, and Ella Fitzgerald;[3] in 1950 he and Oscar Peterson recorded duets, and he also played with Peterson and Charlie Smith as a trio.[3] He was married to Minnie Walton (born Millicent Aitcheson).
In the mid-1950s, he moved to England and worked at the BBC.[3] Upon his return to America, he toured with Woody Herman in 1958 and with Al Cohn/Zoot Sims between 1959 and 1960.[3] A prolific studio musician, he played with Duke Ellington in 1964 and with the Kenny Burrell Trio, Coleman Hawkins, Lee Konitz, Roy Eldridge, Michel Legrand, Milt Buckner, Jay McShann and Quincy Jones in the 1960s and 1970s.[3] From 1967 to 1970, he taught at the Berklee College of Music.[3]
Holley was known for singing along with his arco (bowed) bass solos, a technique Slam Stewart also used.[3] Holley and Stewart recorded two albums together.
Death
Holley died of a heart attack in Maplewood, New Jersey, at the age of 66.[5]
Discography
As leader
- Two Big Mice with Slam Stewart (Black and Blue, 1977)
- Shut Yo' Mouth! with Slam Stewart (PM, 1987)
- Major Step with Joe Van Enkhuizen (Timeless 1992)
- Excuse Me Ludwig (Black and Blue, 1997)
- Mighty Like a Rose with Rose Murphy (Black & Blue, 1998)
As sideman
With Peter Appleyard
- Barbados Heat (Concord Jazz, 1990)
- Barbados Cool (Concord Jazz, 1991)
With Kenny Burrell
- Midnight Blue (Blue Note, 1963)
- Bluesy Burrell (Moodsville, 1963)
- Bluesin' Around (Columbia, 1983)
- Light and Lovely (Black and Blue, 1979)
- Midnight Slows Vol. 10 (Black and Blue, 1979)
With Coleman Hawkins
- Good Old Broadway (Moodsville, 1962)
- Today and Now (Impulse!, 1962)
- The Jazz Version of No Strings (Moodsville, 1962)
- Hawkins! Eldridge! Hodges! Alive! At the Village Gate! (Verve, 1962)
- Hawkins! Alive! At the Village Gate (Verve, 1963)
- Coleman Hawkins Plays Make Someone Happy from Do Re Mi (Moodsville, 1963)
- Desafinado (Impulse!, 1963)
- Back in Bean's Bag (Columbia, 1963)
With Jo Jones
- Papa Jo and His Friends (Denon, 1978)
- Our Man, Papa Jo! (Denon, 1978)
With Quincy Jones
- Quincy Jones Plays Hip Hits (Mercury, 1963)
- Quincy Jones Explores the Music of Henry Mancini (Mercury, 1964)
- Gula Matari (A&M, 1970)
- I Heard That!! (A&M, 1976)
With B.B. King
- Blues 'N' Jazz (MCA, 1983)
With Roland Kirk
- Here Comes the Whistleman (Atlantic, 1967)
- A Meeting of the Times (Atlantic, 1972)
With Buddy Tate
- The Texas Twister (Master Jazz 1975)
- Just Jazz (Uptown, 1984)
- Just Friends (Muse, 1992)
With Clark Terry
- Tread Ye Lightly (Cameo, 1964)
- Having Fun (Delos, 1990)
With Joe Williams
- Having the Blues Under European Sky (Denon, 1985)
With others
- Totti Bergh, Major Blues (Gemini, 1991)
- Milt Buckner, Block Chords Parade (Black & Blue, 1974)
- Jaki Byard, Family Man (Muse, 1978)
- Johnny Guarnieri, Johnny Guarnieri Originals (1979)
- Bob James, Sign of the Times (1981)
- Rufus Jones, Five on Eight (Cameo, 1964)
- Dave McKenna, Dave McKenna Quartet with Zoot Sims (Chiaroscuro, 1974)
- Jay McShann, Some Blues (Chiaroscuro, 1993)
- Flip Phillips, The Claw (Chiaroscuro, 1986)
- Richie Pratt, Olathe (Artists Recording Collective, 2007)
- Hilton Ruiz, Crosscurrents (Stash, 1985)
- Shirley Scott, The Soul Is Willing (Prestige, 1963)
- Shirley Scott, Drag 'em Out (Prestige, 1963)
- Frank Sinatra, L.A. Is My Lady (Qwest, 1984)
- Stanley Turrentine, Never Let Me Go (1963)
- Dicky Wells, Bones for the King (Felsted, 1958)
- Dicky Wells, Trombone Four-in-Hand (Felsted, 1959)
- Gerry Wiggins, Wig Is Here (Black & Blue, 1974)
- Phil Woods, Directly from the Half Note (Philology, 1966)
References
- ^ a b Peter Watrous (27 October 1990). "Mule Holley, Bassist, Dead at 66; A Favorite Among Jazz Musicians". The New York Times. p. 1 28. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
- ^ "Major Holley". data.bnf.fr (in French). Bibliothèque nationale de France. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 213. ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
- ^ Scott Yanow, Major Holley at Allmusic. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
- ^ a b "Jazz Bassist Major Holley Dies". Associated Press. October 26, 1990. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
- ^ "Willie Smith of Lunceford Crew Is among others Starred Here." Chicago Defender 15 May 1943: p. 19.
- ^ Floyd, Samuel A. “An Oral History: The Great Lakes Experience,” in The Black Experience in Music 11.1: (Spring 1983): pp. 41-61.
- v
- t
- e
- Harlem Jazz, 1930
- Ellingtonia, Vol. One
- Ellingtonia, Vol. Two
- Braggin' in Brass: The Immortal 1938 Year
- The Blanton–Webster Band
- Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band
- Smoke Rings
- Liberian Suite
- Great Times!
- Masterpieces by Ellington
- Ellington Uptown
- The Duke Plays Ellington
- Ellington '55
- Dance to the Duke!
- Ellington Showcase
- Historically Speaking
- Duke Ellington Presents...
- The Complete Porgy and Bess
- A Drum Is a Woman
- Studio Sessions, Chicago 1956
- Such Sweet Thunder
- Studio Sessions 1957 & 1962
- Ellington Indigos
- Black, Brown and Beige
- Duke Ellington at the Bal Masque
- The Cosmic Scene
- Happy Reunion
- Jazz Party
- Anatomy of a Murder
- Festival Session
- Blues in Orbit
- The Nutcracker Suite
- Piano in the Background
- Swinging Suites by Edward E. and Edward G.
- Unknown Session
- Piano in the Foreground
- Paris Blues
- Featuring Paul Gonsalves
- Midnight in Paris
- Studio Sessions, New York 1962
- Afro-Bossa
- The Symphonic Ellington
- Duke Ellington's Jazz Violin Session
- Studio Sessions New York 1963
- My People
- Ellington '65
- Duke Ellington Plays Mary Poppins
- Ellington '66
- Concert in the Virgin Islands
- The Popular Duke Ellington
- Far East Suite
- The Jaywalker
- Studio Sessions, 1957, 1965, 1966, 1967, San Francisco, Chicago, New York
- ...And His Mother Called Him Bill
- Second Sacred Concert
- Studio Sessions New York, 1968
- Latin American Suite
- The Pianist
- New Orleans Suite
- Orchestral Works
- The Suites, New York 1968 & 1970
- The Intimacy of the Blues
- The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse
- Studio Sessions New York & Chicago, 1965, 1966 & 1971
- The Intimate Ellington
- The Ellington Suites
- This One's for Blanton!
- Up in Duke's Workshop
- Duke's Big 4
- Mood Ellington
- Duke Ellington at Fargo, 1940 Live
- Black, Brown, and Beige
- The Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1943
- The Carnegie Hall Concerts: December 1944
- The Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1946
- The Carnegie Hall Concerts: December 1947
- Ellington at Newport
- Dance Concerts, California 1958
- Dance Dates, California 1958
- Newport 1958
- Jazz at the Plaza Vol. II
- Duke Ellington at the Alhambra
- Live at the Blue Note
- Hot Summer Dance
- The Great Paris Concert
- A Concert of Sacred Music
- In the Uncommon Market
- Soul Call
- Yale Concert
- 70th Birthday Concert
- Togo Brava Suite
- Live at the Whitney
- Third Sacred Concert
- Eastbourne Performance
- Blue Rose
- Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book
- Side by Side
- Back to Back
- The Great Summit
- First Time! The Count Meets the Duke
- Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins
- Money Jungle
- Duke Ellington & John Coltrane
- Serenade to Sweden
- Ella at Duke's Place
- The Stockholm Concert, 1966
- Ella and Duke at the Cote D'Azur
- Francis A. & Edward K.
- It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing
- "African Flower"
- "All Too Soon"
- "Azure"
- "Black and Tan Fantasy"
- "Black, Brown and Beige"
- "C Jam Blues"
- "Come Sunday"
- "Cotton Tail"
- "Creole Love Call"
- "Day Dream"
- "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue"
- "Do Nothing Till You Hear from Me"
- "Don't Get Around Much Anymore"
- "Drop Me Off in Harlem"
- "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo"
- "Echoes of Harlem"
- "Everything but You"
- "I Ain't Got Nothin' but the Blues"
- "I Didn't Know About You"
- "I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)"
- "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart"
- "I'm Beginning to See the Light"
- "I'm Just a Lucky So-and-So"
- "In a Mellow Tone"
- "In a Sentimental Mood"
- "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)"
- "Just A-Sittin' and A-Rockin'"
- "Just Squeeze Me (But Please Don't Tease Me)"
- "The Mooche"
- "Mood Indigo"
- " Prelude to a Kiss"
- "Rocks in My Bed"
- "(In My) Solitude"
- "Sophisticated Lady"
- Queenie Pie (unfinished opera)
by Billy Strayhorn |
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by Juan Tizol |
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members
- Hayes Alvis
- Cat Anderson
- Ivie Anderson
- Harold Ashby
- Alice Babs
- Shorty Baker
- Butch Ballard
- Art Baron
- Aaron Bell
- Louie Bellson
- Joe Benjamin
- Barney Bigard
- Lou Blackburn
- Jimmy Blanton
- Wellman Braud
- Lawrence Brown
- Harry Carney
- Johnny Coles
- Willie Cook
- Buster Cooper
- Kay Davis
- Wild Bill Davis
- Wilbur de Paris
- Bobby Durham
- Mercer Ellington
- Rolf Ericson
- Jimmy Forrest
- Victor Gaskin
- Peter Giger
- Tyree Glenn
- Paul Gonsalves
- Sonny Greer
- Fred Guy
- Jimmy Hamilton
- Otto Hardwick
- Shelton Hemphill
- Rick Henderson
- Al Hibbler
- Johnny Hodges
- Major Holley
- Charlie Irvis
- Quentin Jackson
- Hilton Jefferson
- Herb Jeffries
- Freddie Jenkins
- Money Johnson
- Herbie Jones
- Wallace Jones
- Taft Jordan
- Al Killian
- Queen Esther Marrow
- Wendell Marshall
- Murray McEachern
- Louis Metcalf
- James "Bubber" Miley
- Harold "Geezil" Minerve
- Ray Nance
- Tricky Sam Nanton
- Oscar Pettiford
- Eddie Preston
- Russell Procope
- Junior Raglin
- Betty Roché
- Ernie Royal
- Al Sears
- Joya Sherrill
- Willie Smith
- Elmer Snowden
- Rex Stewart
- Billy Strayhorn
- Billy Taylor
- Clark Terry
- Juan Tizol
- Norris Turney
- Ben Webster
- Arthur Whetsel
- Cootie Williams
- Nelson Williams
- Skippy Williams
- Booty Wood
- Jimmy Woode
- Britt Woodman
- Sam Woodyard