Customer Reviews

Latin Bit

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This one by Green might seem a bit old "soundwise". I always felt that this CD show pretty clearly how influenced Green was by Charlie Parker. Greens playing is very focused and very very swinging, he has a great help of the piano player Johnny Acea, whom I never heard of before, but he plays very tssty solos. In my opinion Greens playing on "Mambo Inn" and "My little suede shoes" represents some of his most "boppish" playing. A funny thing is that on Ronny Jordans latest record,"A Brighter Day" he has recorded Mambo Inn, and his version is very influenced by this Green 1962 version, that is at least my beleive. I feel that some of the tunes might seem a bit outdated today, but still, George Benson has said that this one is his favourite Green record, that is understandable.

This is another Grant Green theme album. If you like latin music, you'll obviously like it. It's very upbeat, with great percussion by Potato Valdez. The playing is excellent, and the beat will make you want to dance, or it will at least make you smile. Great stuff!

probably in an effort to differentiate the latin bit from the masses of latin and bossa nova records that were coming out at the time, grant green decidedly shunned most of the more polished latin jazz hits that were being recorded, and focused on some rawer, lesser known tunes. probably the most well known tune on the release is "mambo inn", made famous by george shearing quintet a few years earlier. while johnny acea's piano playing is similar to shearing's, green's excellent, and long, guitar solo gives the track its own uniqueness. also included is a samba version of charlie parker's, "my little suede shoes". again, green takes control of the song, with a few excellent and creative solos. but, while green's nimble and relaxed guitar playing give the lp a spark, it's the backing band that keeps it fresh. willie bobo keeps everything steady on the drums, while potato valdez on the congas and carvin masseaux on the chekere make the music sound less americanized.