Melvin Rhyne (October 12, 1936 – March 5, 2013), was a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...

best known for his work with

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...

Biography

Melvin Rhyne was born in Indianapolis in 1936 and started playing the piano shortly after. At 19 years old, Rhyne started playing piano with then-unknown tenor saxophonist

Rahsaan Roland Kirk Rahsaan Roland Kirk (born Ronald Theodore Kirk; August 7, 1935Kernfeld, Barry.Kirk, Roland" ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'', 2nd ed. Ed. Barry Kernfeld. '' Grove Music Online''. '' Oxford Music Online''. Retrieved February 1, 2009-. "The yea ...

but quickly switched over to the instrument that would make him famous: the

Hammond B3 Hammond may refer to: People * Hammond Innes (1913–1998), English novelist * Hammond (surname) * Justice Hammond (disambiguation) Places Antarctica * Hammond Glacier, Antarctica Australia * Hammond, South Australia, a small settlement in S ...

organ. Rhyne's piano skills translated to the organ fluently and before long he was backing famous blues players like

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

and

T-Bone Walker Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker (May 28, 1910 – March 16, 1975) was an American blues musician, composer, songwriter and bandleader, who was a pioneer and innovator of the jump blues, West Coast blues, and electric blues sounds. In 2018 ''R ...

. In 1959 he was asked to join fellow Indianapolis musician

's newly formed trio. Rhyne then moved to Wisconsin and largely kept to himself for the next two decades. In 1991, however, he played on Herb Ellis's album ''Roll Call'', Brian Lynch's ''At the Main Event'', and his own album, ''The Legend''. He continued to be prolific in the years to come, releasing eight more solo albums on the

Criss Cross Jazz Criss Cross Jazz is a Dutch record company and label specializing in jazz. Criss Cross was established in 1980 by Gerry Teekens, a drummer and German professor.

label. Rhyne also recorded with The Mark Ladley Trio for the 1992 release, ''Strictly Business'' and the 1994 release, ''Evidence''. Both landed in the Jazz Charts at CMJ New Music Report and The Gavin Report. The group also appeared on a ''Jazziz'' Magazine sampler disc during that time. Altenburgh Records posthumously released, ''Final Call'' in 2013 by the same group. In 2008 Rhyne teamed up with fellow Indianapolis jazz musician Rob Dixon to form the Dixon-Rhyne Project, a boundary-pushing jazz quartet that also includes Chicago guitarist

Fareed Haque Fareed Haque is an American jazz guitarist, based in Chicago, Illinois. Education Haque was born in Chicago in 1963. His father was from Pakistan, his mother was from Chile. When he was a child, Haque traveled with his parents all over the worl ...

and drummer Kenny Phelps. The quartet released the album ''Reinvention'' in 2008 on Indianapolis jazz label

Owl Studios Owl Studios is a jazz record label founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 2005. In 2013 the label was sold and renamed Owl Music Group. History Founding Owl Studios was started in 2005 by Al Hall, an Indianapolis businessman, to promote local jazz ...

. Rhyne's later career trio included guitarist Peter Bernstein and drummer Kenny Washington in the same organ, guitar, drum formation of the original Wes Montgomery Trio. He died in his hometown of Indianapolis of lung cancer at the age of 76.

Discography

References

External links

Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhyne, Melvin 1936 births 2013 deaths Hard bop organists American jazz organists American male organists Musicians from Indianapolis American male jazz musicians The Dixon-Rhyne Project members Criss Cross Jazz artists Riverside Records artists