Grant Green

Grant Green signed to Blue Note for a second time in 1969. Where his first stint with the label was nearly all hard bop, the recordings from his second stay were almost all funky soul-jazz. Predictably, these are sessions that jazz purists have dismissed throughout the years, even though - when judged strictly on the level of funky, groove-oriented dance music - the music is quite strong. During the '80s and '90s, dance and hip-hop fans rediscovered Green's records from the late '70s and sampled his playing and grooves on their own records. Blue Note assembled The Best of Grant Green, Vol. 2 to capitalize on the popularity of this acid-jazz movement. All of the material on this disc is drawn from albums - The Final Comedown, Live at the Lighthouse, Visions - that never received much attention in jazz circles. Nevertheless, fans of this sound will find The Best of Grant Green, Vol. 2 to be a delight – there are a lot of wonderfully funky, dense grooves on here, and many of the songs have been out of print since their original issue. Hard bop fans will not reconsider their negative opinion of this music based on this compilation, but acid-jazz, groove, and hip-hop fans will find this disc to be an excellent addition to their Grant Green collection.

Grant Green - Green Street (1961) {2002 Rudy Van Gelder Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 308 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 122 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 13 Mb
© 2002 Capitol / Blue Note | 7243 5 40032 2 6 | 24-bit remaster
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop

As a trio, this edition of guitarist Grant Green's many ensembles has to rank with the best he had ever fronted. Recorded on April Fool's Day of 1961, the band and music are no joke, as bassist Ben Tucker and drummer Dave Bailey understand in the most innate sense how to support Green, lay back when needed, or strut their own stuff when called upon. Still emerging as an individualist, Green takes further steps ahead, without a pianist, saxophonist, or – most importantly – an organist.

As a trio, this edition of guitarist Grant Green's many ensembles has to rank with the best he had ever fronted. Recorded on April Fool's Day of 1961, the band and music are no joke, as bassist Ben Tucker and drummer Dave Bailey understand in the most innate sense how to support Green, lay back when needed, or strut their own stuff when called upon. Still emerging as an individualist, Green takes further steps ahead, without a pianist, saxophonist, or - most importantly - an organist. His willpower drives this music forward in a refined approach that definitely marks him as a distinctive, immediately recognizable player. It is also a session done in a period when Green was reeling in popular demand, as this remarkably is one of six recordings he cut for Blue Note as a leader in 1961, not to mention other projects as a sideman…