Major Holley

Major Quincy Jr. Holley, Holley also Mule (* July 10, 1924 in Detroit, Michigan, † October 25, 1990 in Maplewood, New Jersey), was an American jazz bassist.

Life and work

Holley's first instruments were violin and tuba, while serving in the U.S. Navy, he moved to bass. After his military service he performed with musicians such as Dexter Gordon, Charlie Parker and Ella Fitzgerald, 1950 played his first ( unpublished? ) Recordings in duo with Oscar Peterson and Charlie Smith was next to a member of the Peterson trio.

Between 1954 and 1956 he worked as a studio musician for the BBC in London, before he took part in a tour of South America by Woody Herman's band in 1958. After returning to the United States in 1959, he joined the quintet of Al Cohn and Zoot Sims on. In the 1960s, he again worked as a studio musician and performed at, among others, with the Kenny Burrell Trio, Coleman Hawkins ( Today and Now, 1962), Roy Eldridge, Quincy Jones and Duke Ellington (1964). Between 1967 and 1970 he taught at Berklee College of Music in Boston.

In the following years he undertook tours of Europe with Helen Humes and the Kings of Jazz, took with Slam Stewart, Lee Konitz (1975 ), Roland Hanna (1979 ), Michel Legrand, Milt Buckner and Jay McShann, and occurred in various European jazz festivals.

Discography

• Mule with Gerard Badini, Ed Thigpen, Gerry Wiggins, 1974
• Excuse Me, Ludwig and Oliver Jackson, Gerry Wiggins, 1977
• Major Step with Han Bennink, Rein de Graaff, Joe Van Enkhuizen, The (1990) 2000

• Jazz bassist
• High school teacher ( Berklee College of Music)
• American musician
• Born in 1924
• Died in 1990
• Man