Slam Stewart and Major Holley

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Slam Stewart (1914-87) was an innovative bassist who came up in the late 1930s, taking solos by singing wordlessly an octave above his bowed bass.

Major Holley (1924-90) was one of the few to follow Stewart but in his case he sang wordlessly in unison with his bowed bass, vocalizing in a deeper register.

They made two albums together (in 1977 and 1981) and had just a few joint appearances including this one in 1980.

Slam Stewart plays the melody and solos first before Holley gets his turn.

Stewart takes a second solo and then, after a brief tradeoff, the two unique bassists happily end together.

-Scott Yanow

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