Customer Reviews

First Session

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Grant Green heads two quartets from two seperate dates in late 1960. The first five tracks were the first Green ever recorded as a leader for the Blue Note lable and feature the all-world rhythm section of Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. The final two cuts, both takes of the bop standard "Woody 'N' You" were cut a couple of months after Green's "official" first release "Grant's First Stand" and feature Sonny Clark, Butch Warren, and Billy Higgins backing Green. Overall this cd is a fairly solid, if somewhat average set of performances. The leadoff track "He's A Real Gone Guy" is a classic example of Green's soulful, funky approach. The initial version of "Grant's First Stand" and a cover of Sonny Rollins' "Sonnymoon For Two" find the entire quartet digging in and swinging out, all propelled by Jones' drumwork. Green's original slow blues "Seepin'" provides a nice extended laid back groove for Grant to stretch out on. The final two cuts offer the listener who has gobbled up everything else featuring Green and pianist Sonny Clark more of a good thing. Green and Clark always seem inspired by each other's presence and every chance to hear the two on record is a treat. This is a cd for fans of Grant Green who must have all of the music by this underrated legend. Newcomers are urged to check out "Idle Moments", "the Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark", "Matador", or any of his work as a sideman such as Hank Mobley's "Workout" or Lee Morgans' "Search for the New Land" before checking out this cd.

This session was not released earlier, as Alfred Lion had judged it to be less than what Green was capable of. In short, he called it right.

For jazz guitarists and other fans of Green, you may want to buy this disc anyway: While not polished, the solos are good. Moreover, they're easy to deconstruct if you want to see just what Green was thinking over the changes.

If you're just now discovering Grant Green, there are several other excellent albums to begin with. An excellent CD which also features recently re-discovered content is Standards.

This CD deserves five stars just for being available! After years of sitting in the Blue Note vaults, collectors like me can finally stop wondering and start listening to Grant Green's actual label debut. But in terms of musical content, this disc is probably only a four star effort. While the formidable rhythm trio of Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones are in top form, Green seems a bit overwhelmed on a couple of tracks, and the result falls short of the magical interplay that occurs on Hank Mobley's "Workout." The disc concludes with two takes of "Woody N' You" featuring another classic rhythm section -- Sonny Clark, Butch Warren and Billy Higgins (the backbone of Dexter Gordon's "Go" and Jackie McLean's "A Fickle Sonance" among others). Again, the results are more historically significant than musically. With that being said, overall I still enjoy this disc more than some Green discs that saw the light of day when they were recorded, such as "Sunday Morning," "The Latin Bit" or even "Feelin' The Spirit." But as the reviewer below indicates, those just discovering Grant Green would be far better served starting with "Idle Moments."