Melvin Rhyne

Organist Melvin Rhyne’s best popularity was his involvement on 4 Wes Montgomery Riverside classes (including Montgomery’s initial and last record for the label). Thankfully, Rhyne survived lengthy more than enough, after some low fat years, to come back towards the major-league jazz picture and record some CDs of his personal. Given birth to in Indianapolis, Rhyne (a mainly self-taught pianist) was a significant area of the city’s jazz picture. He used the then-unknown Roland Kirk during 1955-1956, and quickly switched to body organ. He also experienced opportunities to back again some blues (including T-Bone Walker and B.B. King) and R&B performers. Rhyne was a part of Montgomery’s group for some of 1959-1964. In 1969, he relocated to Madison, WI, and four years later on he relocated to Milwaukee, where he continued to be energetic if obscure for another 2 decades. In 1990, he surfaced, recording with Plant Ellis and Brian Lynch. Mel Rhyne continued to record two superb units for Criss Mix, including a quartet program which has Joshua Redman as his sideman, and shows that he’s a fantastic soul-jazz and hard bop soloist in his personal right.