Melvin Rhyne is a jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 organist

Organ (music)

The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...

 best known for his work with Wes Montgomery

Wes Montgomery

John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. He is widely considered one of the major jazz guitarists, emerging after such seminal figures as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian and influencing countless others, including Pat Martino, George Benson, Russell Malone, Emily...

.

Early Years

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

Rahsaan Roland Kirk

Rahsaan Roland Kirk was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who played tenor saxophone, flute and many other instruments...

 but quickly switched over to the instrument that would make him famous: the Hammond B3 organ. Rhyne's piano skills translated to the organ fluently and before long he was backing famous blues players like B.B. King and T-Bone Walker

T-Bone Walker

Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker was a critically acclaimed American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who was one of the most influential pioneers and innovators of the jump blues and electric blues sound. He is the first musician recorded playing blues with the...

.

The Montgomery Years

Melvin's big break, however, came in 1959 when he was asked to join fellow Indianapolis

Indianapolis

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

 jazz musician Wes Montgomery

Wes Montgomery

John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. He is widely considered one of the major jazz guitarists, emerging after such seminal figures as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian and influencing countless others, including Pat Martino, George Benson, Russell Malone, Emily...

's newly formed trio. Rhyne played with Montgomery for five years and cut four records with the trio: Guitar on the Go, Round Midnight, Boss Guitar, and Portrait of Wes.

After the Montgomery years, Rhyne moved to Wisconsin and largely kept to himself for the next two decades.

Return to Jazz

In 1991, however, Rhyne returned to the jazz scene in full force, playing on Herb Ellis

Herb Ellis

Mitchell Herbert "Herb" Ellis was an American jazz guitarist. Perhaps best known for his 1950s membership in the trio of pianist Oscar Peterson, Ellis was also a staple of west-coast studio recording sessions, and was described by critic Scott Yanow as "an excellent bop-based guitarist with a...

' album Roll Call, Brian Lynch

Brian Lynch

Brian Michael Lynch is an American film and comic book writer. Lynch was the initial writer and co-creator with Joss Whedon of Angel: After The Fall for IDW Publishing, and has written the film adaptation of The Sims.-Biography:...

's At the Main Event, and his own comeback The Legend. Rhyne continued to be prolific in the years to come, releasing eight more solo albums on the Criss Cross

Criss Cross

-People:*Kris Kross, an American rap duo*Criss Cross Jazz, a jazz label*Chris Cross, bassist for the UK band Ultravox*ChrisCross, an American comic book artist...

 jazz label.

In 2008 Rhyne teamed up with fellow Indianapolis jazz musician Rob Dixon

Rob Dixon

Rob Dixon is an American jazz saxophonist.A native of Atlanta, Dixon went to school at Indiana University where he came under the influence of the renowned jazz educator David Baker...

 to form the Dixon-Rhyne Project, a boundary-pushing jazz quartet that also includes Chicago guitarist Fareed Haque

Fareed Haque

Fareed Haque is a fusion guitar virtuoso of Pakistani and Chilean descent.Raised in Chicago, he studied at North Texas State University and Northwestern University....

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

Owl Studios

Owl Studios is an independent record label, started in 2005 by J. Allan Hall, that concentrates on jazz, R&B, and jam band genres. It is based in Indianapolis, Indiana and operates from its downtown offices on Monument Circle.-Formation:...

.

Today, Rhyne continues to perform live with the Melvin Rhyne Trio, which is the group behind his albums The Legend, Mel's Spell, Kojo, and Tomorrow Yesterday Today. The trio includes drummer Kenny Washington

Kenny Washington

Kenny Washington may refer to:* Kenny Washington , American football player* Kenny Washington , jazz musician* Kenneth Washington, actor...

 and guitarist Peter Bernstein

Peter Bernstein

Peter Bernstein may refer to:*Peter Bernstein , American film and television composer*Peter Bernstein , American jazz guitarist*Peter L. Bernstein , American author, economist and educator...

 in the same organ, guitar, drum formation of the original Wes Montgomery Trio.

Discography

Year	Artist	Title	Label
1959	The Wes Montgomery Trio	Guitar on the Go	Riverside
1959	The Wes Montgomery Trio	Round Midnight	Riverside
1960	Melvin Rhyne	Organ-izing	Jazzland
1963	The Wes Montgomery Trio	Boss Guitar	Riverside
1963	The Wes Montgomery Trio	Portrait of Wes	Riverside
1969	Johnny Shacklett	At The Hofman House	Universal Artists
1991	Herb Ellis	Roll Call	Justice Records
1991	Brian Lynch Quintet	At The Main Event	Criss Cross
1991	Melvin Rhyne Trio	The Legend	Criss Cross
1992	Mark Ladley	Strictly Business	Altenburgh Records
1992	Melvin Rhyne	To Cannonball with Love	Paddle Wheel Records
1993	Ronald Muldrow	Yesterdays	Enja Records
1993	Mark Ladley	Evidence	Altenburgh Records
1993	Melvin Rhyne Quartet	Boss Organ	Criss Cross
1993	The Tenor Triangle with The Melvin Rhyne Trio	Tell it Like it Is	Criss Cross
1994	The Tenor Triangle with The Melvin Rhyne Trio	Aztec Blues	Criss Cross
1995	Melvin Rhyne Trio	Mel's Spell	Criss Cross
1995	Melvin Rhyne Quartet	Stick to the Kick	Criss Cross
1999	Melvin Rhyne Trio	Kojo	Criss Cross
2000	Melvin Rhyne Quartet	Classmasters	Criss Cross
2004	Melvin Rhyne Trio	Tomorrow Yesterday Today	Criss Cross
2007	Melvin Rhyne	Front & Center	Criss Cross
2008	The Dixon-Rhyne Project	Reinvention	Owl Studios Owl Studios Owl Studios is an independent record label, started in 2005 by J. Allan Hall, that concentrates on jazz, R&B, and jam band genres. It is based in Indianapolis, Indiana and operates from its downtown offices on Monument Circle.-Formation:...