AOTW June 22-28th Giants of the Organ In Concert

[Soul Stream]

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I have quite mixed feelings about this album. It's a tremendously exciting jam. To have been there would have been cathartic!

But on album, it seems a bit of a mess, or maybe it's just hard for me to concentrate on it. So I never think of it as either of the leaders' best work, or even most representative work.

MG

[Soul Stream]

This is from the great Jimmy McGriff article by Matt Rogers that was in two parts courtesy of Waxpoetics Magazine from Spring 2005.... Jimmy had quit the music business beginning in 1972. He moved to the country in Conn. and raised horses. After about 7 months in the sticks, hiding from the music industry, Groove Holmes called him and wanted to make a record together. And that brought Jimmy out of retirement. That record became Giants of the Organ Come Together, the first head-to-head Hammond encounter on wax. They then toured together... the article picks it up from there...

With Giants a chart success, Sonny Lester took the show on the road. Bernard Purdie, who partook for a stint, told me, "We did about fourteen cities with those guys, and my job was to just keep everything in the pocket. See, I don't like to say it but...everyone liked Jimmy Smith; I preferred Jimmy McGriff and Groove." When Purdie left the tour, Don Williams took over. "I was the main drummer on the road. Two organs, plus two Leslie speakers, plus two bass speakers, plus my kit, sweating so much 'cause I never left the bandstand. Groove would play first, then Jimmy would ease up after twenty to thirty minutes, then they'd play together for an hour and a half, so me and Groove would never leave the bandstand; it was killing me. They were paying me one show's money for two jobs! I had to have the power to stay up on it, 'cause when they'd push those expression pedals to make them swells and everything, it wasn't nothing but these here arms coming up with them to stay on top of that groove. About four months we did that and I stayed thin man, a hell of a good workout."

I must say, to have the privilege of sitting in the living room of the guy who helped create your favorite record, having him break down said album as you both listen to it is, simply, indescribable geeky joy. "I haven't hear this in years," smiles Jimmy, playing a bit of air Hammond. no surprise, since-like many of his other albums-he doesn't own a copy. Giants of the Organ In Concert was recorded in a Boston club, Paul's Mall, sometimes in '73. The McGriff/Groove stereophonically balanced double LP is nothing if not profound rhythm with two Hammonds, three guitars, congas and a drum kit. With "songs" up to fifteen minutes long, it's the ultimate organ jam session, full of irrepressible funk and swing. I ask McGriff how they decided on a playlist each night. "We just played what came to our minds. See with all them drawbars and stops, I know how to get 1400 sounds out of that organ. And Groove knows how to get 1400 sounds from his organ. So, it wasn't no problem keepin' everybody awake." As we listen, Jimmy points a few seconds before each change. "See, you can tell who's playing by that bass. I can hear when we're about to switch up. That's how well we knew each other's playing'". True, but Don Williams tells it a bit differently. "What would happen is Groove would be playing bass pedals and he'd look over at Jimmy and point down and Jimmy would play the pedals. Jimmy had the best bass line in the business as far as groove was concerned. I mean, Groove was Groove. He had a good bass line, but it didn't groove like Jimmy. Jimmy had a thunderous groove that you could hear a block away. And he would do it effortlessly. I'd look over at him sometimes when the shit'd be poppin' like hell, and he'd look like he was watching television."

[.:.impossible]

On a scale of one to five, I think this record is fucking awesome.

[Soul Stream]

Check out the album cover...Groove's organ has "Richard "Groove" Holmes" emblazened on the front of the organ...now that's some shit.

[.:.impossible]

Those shirts!

I just love listening to this album. So much fun.

[Soul Stream]

I was just listening to Bean's on this record (which is really a version of Jimmy Smith's version of The Champ)....and MAN!!!!....McGRiff is BUUUUUUURNING. Just ridiculous.

[Niko]

been playing this album (which i ordered after the discussion a few weeks ago) quite a bit in the last few weeks... think i somehow agree with MG (although i am hardly familiar with holmes and mcgriffs other output, just have one album of each groovin with jug and main squeeze)... somehow i don't usually listen to it as an album i will rather play one or two of my favorite pieces (don't feel like calling them songs... but they are great and atmospheric), namely mozambique... vaguely reminds me of a conversation i had years ago about some philosophy book (Baudrillard?) where i complained it was unreadable and badly structured and a friend said, if you want to make use of it just open it in some place and read a few lines, it's more a construction site of ideas than a (scientific) book...

something about creating pieces like this feels wrong to me... but then you can have such a great time with this cd

(btw before i had heard it i was a bit worried about having two organs play at a time... nothing wrong with that here - but the three guitar players feel like one or two guitar players too much in places to me...)

if i'm a bit lucky i may find their studio cd in my mail box when i come home from work today... (or Soul Connection...?)

[Jim Alfredson]

This was one of a handful of organ records in my dad's collection that blew my mind and made me lust after the Hammond B3 when I was a teenager. I fucking love this record. Yes, it's sloppy. Yes, it's rough. But dammit, those guys were doing it. My dad used to get a kick out of listening to it and commenting on how the guitarists were having a helluva time keeping up with McGriff and Holmes! He would laugh and laugh about that.

This is on CD now? How is the sound quality? I wore out my dad's vinyl copy and had to replace it with another (which I found sealed on eBay for hardly any "Brown Bread" awhile back, you dig?)

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

This was one of a handful of organ records in my dad's collection that blew my mind and made me lust after the Hammond B3 when I was a teenager. I fucking love this record. Yes, it's sloppy. Yes, it's rough. But dammit, those guys were doing it. My dad used to get a kick out of listening to it and commenting on how the guitarists were having a helluva time keeping up with McGriff and Holmes! He would laugh and laugh about that.

This is on CD now? How is the sound quality? I wore out my dad's vinyl copy and had to replace it with another (which I found sealed on eBay for hardly any "Brown Bread" awhile back, you dig?)

Yes, it's on CD. Reissued by a Canadian firm 18 months or so back. You can probably get it anywhere (on the web).

MG