Major Holley was born in Detroit on July 10, 1924 and died October 26, 1990. His first instruments were the violin and tuba, and he took up the double bass while playing in navy bands. This is where he acquired his nickname -- his colleagues jokingly referred to him as a pack mule, loaded down with instruments.

After his discharge from the navy, he played with such artists as Dexter Gordon, Charlie Parker, and Ella Fitzgerald. In 1950, he made his first recordings in a duo with Oscar Peterson and, for a year, was part of a trio with Oscar and Charlie Smith. 1

In the mid-1950s, he worked as a studio musician for BBC television in London, England. He joined Woody Herman's band for a tour of South America (1958), then returned to the U.S. in 1959 to play with the group led by Al Cohn and Zoot Sims (1959-60).

In the 1960s, he was particularly recognized for his studio work. During this period, he also performed with such jazz musicians as Kenny Burrell, Coleman Hawkins, and Duke Ellington, and taught at the Berklee College of Music (1967-70) in Boston.

He made several tours of Europe with Helen Humes and the Kings of Jazz, and recorded with Roy Eldridge, Lee Konitz (1975), and Roland Hanna (1979). He also appeared at numerous European festivals in the 1980s. When playing a solo with the bow, Major Holley often sings in octave unison (in the manner of Slam Stewart); although such vocal excursions are usually rough-toned and wordless, he uses lyrics to great humorous effect on Razzle Dazzle, recorded with Konitz in 1975. 2

Selected Recordings

Tenderly, with Oscar Peterson (1950, Verve 2662 MONO)
Robbins Nest/Exactly Like You (1950, Clef 8930)
Mule! (1974, BB 33074)


Footnotes

1 Lees, Gene.   Oscar Peterson: The Will to Swing.   Rocklin, California: Prima Publishing & Communications, 1990.

2 Kernfeld, Barry.   The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz.   London: Macmillan Press Ltd, 1988.

O.P. & Friends