RICHARD HOLMES AND GENE AMMONS - GROOVIN' WITH JUG (180g IMPORT LP)

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 as the Chicago tenor saxman might have been of organists, 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 Gene Ammons and Richard "Groove" Holmes co-leading a soul-jazz/hard bop organ combo that also includes guitarist Gene Edwards and drummer Leroy Henderson. The quartet is heard in two settings on August 15, 1961; three of the eight selections were produced by Richard Bock in a Los Angeles studio in the afternoon, while the other five were recorded several hours later at an L.A. club called the Black Orchid. Ammons and Holmes prove to be a strong combination in both settings, although their playing is somewhat looser at the Orchid, where the delights include some slow blues (Ammons' "Hittin' the Jug"), a smoky ballad ("Willow Weep for Me") and a lightning-fast barnburner (Ammons' "Juggin' Around").

Richard Holmes & Gene Ammons Groovin' With Jug Track Listing

1. Good Vibrations
2. Willow Weep For Me
3. Juggin’ Around Side
4. Groovin’ With Jug
5. Morris The Minor
6. Hey You, What’s That?