Tee Holman Sextet Let's Make Ends Meet

“Let’s Make Ends Meet” is a lost 2-song EP by The Tee Holman Sextet - a group that only existed for a single session, comprised of some of the best local jazz talent NYC had to offer, recorded in a community-based studio, in a single afternoon in the early 70s. Tee Holman was a journeyman drummer who’d started his career as a teenager, playing uncredited on the Martha Reeves & The Vandellas smash “Heat Wave”. He didn’t surface on record again until Eddie Gale’s seminal “Ghetto Music” album, released on Blue Note in 1970, for which he provided its adamantium backbone. By all accounts, the Let’s Make Ends Meet session happened directly after that, although specific details remain murky. Holman passed away in 2006, leaving no next of kin. We spoke with trumpeter and Sun Ra Arkestra alum Ahmed Abdullah, as well as Harlem-based piano player Sonelius Smith and vibraphonist Bob Barker, for this project.

“The Rudie” is a fierce and urgent statement of identity, taken at an aggressive tempo, channeling the anger of the times. The groove is anchored by a heavy electric bass line and Tee’s hotstepping funk backbeat, while Abdullah’s piercing trumpet, vocalist Nancy Weeks’ soaring melodies, Smith’s dexterous keys and Barker’s sharp vibraphone all unite and combine into a euphoric whirlwind, leaving the listener breathless by the song’s conclusion.

“Summertime” is a beautiful, melancholic update of the Gershwin classic. It emerges out of the hazy mirage of a Brooklyn afternoon, as a vendor calls out for hot dogs and ice cream. Renown jazz singer Joe Lee Wilson reinterprets the original lyrics to reflect the street culture of New York City’s ghettos and a “Black Is Beautiful” message, as the musicians hit a loping, woozy sun-baked swing behind Sonelius Smith’s electric piano, culminating in a heartfelt lament to The City itself and the fleeting memories of summers past.