death_place death_date years_active background birth_date instrument genre article_title birth_name
owosso , michigan , united states 24 february 2009 1975 -- 2008 non_vocal_instrumentalist 3 march 1942 hammond b-3 , piano jazz fusion soul funk lyman woodard
 lyman elnathan woodard iii
lyman woodard

lyman woodard -lrb- march 3 , 1942 -- february 25 , 2009 -rrb- was a detroit-based jazz organist noted for fusing his music with latin and afro-cuban-inspired rhythms .
from the late 1960s , woodard recorded with a number of motown acts , and served as musical director for martha and the vandellas .
but releases -- such as his 1975 `` saturday night special '' -- and the legacy of his namesake outfit , the lyman woodard organization , helped define motor city 's lesser-known jazz-funk heritage .
before establishing the lyman woodard organization , he comprised a jazz trio with drummer melvin davis and guitarist dennis coffey ; the ensemble made its reputation playing numerous shows at a nightclub called cobb 's corner .
in 1968 , woodard and melvin davis recorded the album `` hair and thangs '' with dennis coffey .
although the album was released as a solo project by dennis coffey in 1969 , a single containing `` it 's your thing '' -lrb- '' `` it 's your thang '' '' on the lp -rrb- and `` river rouge '' was released with the artist -lrb- s -rrb- as `` dennis coffey and the lyman woodard trio '' .
in 1979 , woodard returned to cobb 's corner with the organization to record `` do n't stop the groove '' , for the corridor label .
the 1987 recording , `` dedicacion '' , featured violinist regina carter .
in march 2009 , wax poetics records reissued a limited pressing of `` saturday night special '' as a double lp on 180-gram vinyl .
