Larry Young – Groove Street

Organist and pianist Larry Young, who took the Muslim name Khalid Yasin (Abdul Aziz), was born on October 7, 1940 in Newark, New Jersey. He got his start in R & B in the 50s before entering the jazz world through the musical gates of Jimmy Forrest, Lou Donaldson, Kenny Dorham, Hank Mobley and Tommy Turrentine. Young’s debut as a leader was 1960’s Testifying, a soul jazz LP released on Prestige. After switching to Blue Note in 1964, Young embraced modal jazz and jazz fusion, a stark departure from Jimmy Smith’s blues-oriented organ style. He is best remembered for the acclaimed 1965 album Unity.

This cut is from his “soul jazz” period. After this he was strongly influenced by John Coltrane and went on to record and perform with Elvin Jones and others. A body of work well worth exploring though it’s almost impossible to find any video of him. Personnel: Larry Young, Hammond B3 Bill Leslie, Tenor Saxophone Thornel Schwartz, Guitar Jimmie Smith, Drums

Here’s the title track from 1962’s Groove Street.