MUSIC HISTORY: Grant Green

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Grant Green: a grooving improviser like no other.

Review / Overview

(2003)

Grant Green: Great Jazz Guitar From An Overlooked Master

Grant Green may very well be the most underrated guitarist in jazz history (and there are a few). His single-note lead style is instantly recognizable -- both his tone and phrasing are like no one else. The Blue Note releases of his earlier years stand as monuments of achievement between the mountains of talent that are Wes Montgomery, Charlie Christian, and Barney Kessel. While there was a resurgence of interest in the ‘90s when various pop and hip-hop samplers raided his catalog, Grant Green still does not generally receive the reverence he deserves. Simply put, he's one of the most interesting, funky, and original musicians to come out of the nineteen-sixties.

While some have criticized his later works as commercially-oriented sell outs -- an accusation rightfully leveled at Wes Montgomery and George Benson as well -- his playing never failed to both grow and inspire (as was also the case with Wes and Benson). His earlier efforts rank as some of the most innovative fretwork in the annals of jazz guitar, and since his premature death via heart attack in 1979, no one has come along with a sound so singular as that of Grant Green.

A prime example would be Green Street (1961), a strong session with Green in a rare trio setting, with the responsive Dave Bailey on drums and Ben Tucker on bass. Green displays that his inventive single-note style was already fully developed and percolating with invention. His take on Thelonious Monk’s “’Round Midnight” alone makes the album worth owning, and the slinky "Green Street" is a model of deceptive simplicity, being far more skillful and incisive than it initially appears. Easily one of the great jazz albums of the early sixties.

Born To Be Blue, recorded in 1962, includes Sonny Clark on piano and Ike Quebec on tenor. Some regard this as Green's best work; actually it’s indicative of even better things to come. There are great grooves here, and Green is never without a sense of purpose and direction. Ike Quebec is in fine form, taking Green’s musical cues to weighty and bristling heights, always complementing and solidifying their singular goal. Great straight-ahead jazz that is one of numerous high-points in the Green catalog.

Idle Moments (1963) has always been noted for its atmosphere, but the tunes don’t merely set up a feeling; they convey a deep sense of perspective and emotion as well. Bobby Hutcherson's vibes with Joe Henderson's tenor make this an album not to be missed -- there’s also Grant Green (in top form, playing killer solos). The overlooked Duke Pearson (on piano) lays down some tasteful lines that do more with less. What comes through is Green's honesty: his expression is never hidden behind extraneous harmonic invention. This is Green's most famous recording, and for all its sounds-like-it-was-recorded-at-3-a.m. tone, there’s also the energized bop of “Jean de Fleur.” Truly perfect late-night listening, from start to finish.

1964's Solid, another contender for Green's best work, includes some truly incendiary work from tenor sax player Joe Henderson; it could almost be his album, but this says more about Green's choice of players than anything else. This recording was cut with what was essentially John Coltrane's group -- McCoy Tyner on piano, Elvin Jones on drums, and Bob Cranshaw standing in for Jimmy Garrison on bass -- with Green in the Coltrane slot as the featured soloist. Additional guest alto-saxophonist James Spaulding is included for (very) good measure, and you can feel how the players spur each other on and push the explorations to another level. The melodic line in the lead-off track (“Minor League”) is enough to blow anyone out of their seat -- it’s clean, sinuous, and captivating, with each instrument weaving and bopping to its own groove within the line. This was released in the same year as Coltrane’s A Love Supreme and Horace Silver’s Song For My Father, and is just as worthy of being showered with the same admiration.

Matador (1964) was cut during the same sessions as Solid but was inexplicably not released until 1979. This album is also a stellar collection of straight-ahead improvisational wonder. Any player in ’64 with nerve enough to cut a version of "My Favorite Things" -- with the bulk of Coltrane’s band no less -- who also manages to more than pull it off, deserves plenty. Green’s take is every bit as engaging and impressive as Coltrane's, and what he lacks in probing relentlessness he makes up for in melodic flair and rhythmic invention. Slightly more subdued than Solid, the album is rife with Green's staccato, crystal-clear playing. Perhaps Matador's late addition to the Green catalog accounts for its disregard, which is too bad, because it's as strong and rewardingly listenable as anything he's done. Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "Wives and Lovers" is a smart and suitable jumping-off-point for jazz excursion, though having it as the bonus track on both Solid and Matador is unnecessarily excessive.

No one more than Grant Green was able to translate the style of Charlie Christian into the more modern improvisational framework of hard bop. Think of all the great jazz guitar players -- Montgomery, Kessel, Kenny Burrell, Billy Bauer, Tal Farlow, Jim Hall -- each has named Christian as a primary influence, the original architect, the trailblazer. And the one who sounds the most like him and yet also manages to be one of the most unique? Grant Green. Think about it. And listen up.

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