Melvin Rhyne Quartet ''Boss Organ''

Melvin Rhyne Quartet

''Boss Organ''
( Criss Cross Jazz Records, 1994 )
Catalog # Criss 1080 CD

Tracklisting:
1 Hattush's Blues (9:00)
Written-By - Melvin Rhyne
2 Full House (10:13)
Written-By - Wes Montgomery
3 You And I (6:59)
Written-By - Stevie Wonder
4 Born To Be Blue (6:43)
Lyrics By - Mel Tormé
Music By - Robert Wells
5 Shades Of Light (5:33)
Written-By - H. Laws
6 All God's Chillun Got Rhythm (5:59)
Written-By - Bronislaw Kaper, Walter Jurmann
7 Bear's Tune (6:33)
Written By - L. Taylor
8 Jeannine (10:13)
Written-By - Duke Pearson

Personnel & Credits:
Drums - Kenny Washington
Engineer - Max Bolleman
Guitar - Peter Bernstein
Organ - Melvin Rhyne
Producer - Gerry Teekens
Saxophone - Joshua Redman

Notes:
Rec. 6 January 1993 at RPM Studio, NYC
Format:CD
Country:Netherlands
Released:1994

Review:
Mel Rhyne, best known for his association in the 1960s with Wes Montgomery, re-emerged with this Criss Cross CD as one of the finest jazz organists around. He is matched with guitarist Peter Bernstein, drummer Kenny Washington, and young tenor great Joshua Redman for a set of good-natured and often hard-swinging performances. In addition to superior versions of "All God's Chillun Got Rhythm" and "Jeannine," the quartet explores lesser-known songs such as Hubert Laws' "Shades of Light," Stevie Wonder's "You and I," and Mel Torme's "Born to Be Blue." The music is consistently stimulating and swinging.
By Scott Yanow (AMG)

Biography:
Organist Melvin Rhyne's greatest fame is his participation on four Wes Montgomery Riverside sessions (including Montgomery's first and last album for the label). Fortunately, Rhyne survived long enough, after some lean years, to return to the major-league jazz scene and record some CDs of his own. Born in Indianapolis, Rhyne (a largely self-taught pianist) was an important part of the city's jazz scene. He played with the then-unknown Roland Kirk during 1955-1956, and soon switched to organ. He also had opportunities to back a series of blues (including T-Bone Walker and B.B. King) and R&B artists. Rhyne was part of Montgomery's group for most of 1959-1964. In 1969, he moved to Madison, WI, and four years later he relocated to Milwaukee, where he remained active if obscure for the next two decades. In 1990, he emerged, recording with Herb Ellis and Brian Lynch. Mel Rhyne went on to record two excellent sets for Criss Cross, including a quartet session that has Joshua Redman as his sideman, and has shown that he is an excellent soul-jazz and hard bop soloist in his own right.
By Scott Yanow (AMG)

Cover & Scans here.

By Pier