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Major Holley

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Major Holley
Born
Major Holley Jr.

(1924-07-10)July 10, 1924
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
DiedOctober 25, 1990(1990-10-25) (aged 66)
Maplewood, New Jersey, U.S.
GenresJazz
Occupations
  • Musician
  • professor
InstrumentDouble bass
Years active1940s–1990
Labels
Formerly of

Major "Mule" Holley Jr. (July 10, 1924 – October 25, 1990)[1][2][3] was an American jazz double bassist.[4][5]

Early life and education

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Holley was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States.[3] While young, he played violin and tuba.[3] He attended the prestigious Cass Technical High School in Detroit.[1]

Career

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Holley began playing bass while serving in the U.S. 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

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Holley died of a heart attack in Maplewood, New Jersey, at the age of 66.[5]

Discography

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As leader

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As sideman

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With Peter Appleyard

  • Barbados Heat (Concord Jazz, 1990)
  • Barbados Cool (Concord Jazz, 1991)

With Kenny Burrell

With Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis

  • Light and Lovely (Black & Blue, 1979)
  • Midnight Slows Vol. 10 (Black & Blue, 1979)

With Coleman Hawkins

With Jo Jones

With Quincy Jones

With B. B. King

With Rahsaan Roland Kirk

With Buddy Tate

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

References

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  1. ^ a b Watrous, Peter (October 27, 1990). "Mule Holley, Bassist, Dead at 66; A Favorite Among Jazz Musicians". The New York Times. Section 1, p. 28. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  2. ^ "Major Holley (1924–1991)". data.bnf.fr (in French). Bibliothèque nationale de France. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (1st ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 213. ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
  4. ^ Yanow, Scott. "Major Holley Song, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  5. ^ a b "Jazz Bassist Major Holley Dies". Associated Press. October 26, 1990. Retrieved May 21, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ "Willie Smith of Lunceford Crew Is among others Starred Here". The Chicago Defender. May 15, 1943. p. 19.
  7. ^ Floyd, Samuel (Spring 1983). "An Oral History: The Great Lakes Experience". The Black Perspective in Music. 11 (1). Professor J. Southern: 41–61. Retrieved May 5, 2026 – via JSTOR.
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