Deep Green

The Smithereens' excellent sophomore effort picks up where their debut, Especially for You, left off, with Pat DiNizio delivering another impressive batch of superbly constructed pop gems; tracks like "Only a Memory," "House We Used to Live In," and "Drown in My Own Tears" are immediately ingratiating – instantly familiar, yet performed with more than enough energy and flair to sound new and exciting…

Grant Green - The Holy Barbarian, St. Louis, 1959 (2012) {Uptown Records UPCD 27.68 rec 1959-60}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 325 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 166 Mb
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© 1959, 2012 Uptown Records | UPCD 27.68
Jazz / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Guitar / Organ

Grant Green's star rose after his signing to Blue Note in 1960, though he appeared as a sideman on several releases during the 1950s. These previously unissued live recordings, made in 1959 and 1960 at the Holy Barbarian Coffee House in St. Louis, document some of his earliest work. Although the music wasn't taped professionally, the sound is quite good, with several extended performances. The St. Louis native is joined by tenor saxophonist Bob Graf (a former Woody Herman sideman who had returned to his hometown), the somewhat obscure organist Sam Lazar, and drummer Chauncey Williams, though none of the three have very large discographies.

Between them, the young duo of Benny Green and Russell Malone has a world of experience, having played with such jazz masters as Ray Brown, Harry Connick Jr., Betty Carter, Diana Krall, and Branford Marsalis. This live date captures the terrific twosome delivering a tasty palette of blues, standards, and ballads. Malone's guitar lines are impressive and encyclopedic, ranging from Wes Montgomery's ringing double octaves to Joe Pass's tender timbres. Green's pianisms imbue everything he plays with a haze of blues. They both treat chestnuts like Cannonball Adderley's "Wabash," Billy Strayhorn's "Intimacy of the Blues," and John Coltrane's "Moment's Notice/Lazy Bird" with dazzling and deft improvisations. Here, in front of an appreciative audience, these musicians beautifully highlight the difference between just making a record and actually playing music…

“I think it’s important to be ambitious,” asserts Echo Bloom frontman and founder Kyle Evans. “When I started this band, that was a challenge that I set for myself. I wanted to make something really beautiful, whether it’s folk music or rock music or something more experimental. The medium and the people I’ve worked with have changed, but I’ve always tried to hold on to that fundamental idea.”