Richard "Groove" Holmes - Broadway (Muse/32 Jazz, 1982)

This post is by Scott

Richard "Groove" Holmes (org); Houston Person (ts); Gerald Smith (g); Bobby Ward (d); Ralph Dorsey (perc, cga)

Recorded on December 2, 1980

Listening to "Groove" Holmes' music always brings a smile to my face.  It has a warmth, a directnesss, and a humanity that always pulls me right in.

Soul jazz didn't flourish in the 1980s like it had in the 1970s.  But artists like "Groove" Holmes (as well as others) carried the torch for soul jazz into the new decade.  

Released in 1982, Broadway was Holmes' third album in his successful run on Joe Fields' Muse label, appearing after Shippin' Out (1977) and Good Vibrations (1980).

Like the album that preceded it, Broadway features tenorist Houston Person.  Person also served as the album's producer.

The album is a pleasing mix of burners (like the title cut "Broadway," taken at a ridiculous fast tempo), ballads (like "Everything Must Change"), and blues (such as the closing track, "Plenty, Plenty Blues").  Listeners who enjoy the powerful and soulful sound of the Hammond B3 organ will find much to enjoy on Broadway.