Grant Green, who died in 1979 at the age of 47, was Blue Note’s house guitarist—the man annotator Bob Blumenthal calls “the label’s most ubiquitous performer at the time.” This long-overdue four-CD compilation ably surveys Green’s 1963-69 contributions as a leader and sideman during what was arguably the label’s most artistically creative and commercially potent era. The first two discs showcase Green’s formidable soul-jazz swing in tandem with the imprint’s nonpareil crew of Hammond B-3 organists—Baby Face Willette, Jack McDuff, Jimmy Smith, Big John Patton, and, most importantly, the forward-looking Larry Young. The other two discs take in Green’s solid work on straight-ahead sessions, where he played alongside Hank Mobley, Horace Parlan, Stanley Turrentine, Ike Quebec, and Lee Morgan, and shined on his own in formats ranging from tough trios to scorching sextets. Green’s formidable sense of rhythm and economical, sensitive attack shine through in this thoughtfully compiled salute to one of jazz’s best team players.—CM
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news