Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Jazz Club in Your Own Home, January 18, 2005
After his wildly prolific period in the early 60's, Green disappeared from the music scene for several years due to drug problems. When he re-emerged in the late 60's to early 70's it was with a completely different sound. Gone were the bop and the blues, in with the soul-jazz/funk. Green formed a tight, funky group for live appearances, including on this date Blue Note house drummer Idris Muhammad.
Recorded with the usual Blue Note perfection at the Cliche Lounge in Newark, NJ on August 15th 1970, this CD will make you feel like you're right there in the audience. You can actually hear the ice clinking in the drinks and the fans talking and shouting. Close your eyes and you're right there in a smoky early 70's jazz club listening to a true legend get down with his bad self! But ever the seasoned showman, Green knows enough to "bring the room down" for two slower songs, and two highlights of the album they are!
"Grant Green Alive" is far from Green's justly famous earlier works in the more traditional Blue Note style, but if you love soul-jazz/funk like this, it's a masterpiece. Fans of classic records like "Idle Moments" and "Grantstand" might want to consider these reviews before adding this one to your collection, as more traditional jazz fans might not dig it.
I do.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Green is beautiful..., May 7, 2003
There's not many CD's I'd give a 5-star review to but this is one of them! "Alive!" confirms Grant Green as the finest practitioner of that subgenre of "Jazz" known as jazz/funk, soul/jazz...whatever you care to name it! From the ballistic opener, "Let the Music Take Your Mind" (a storming version of a Kool & the Gang contemporary cut which has to be one of the funkiest things I've heard), the sheer energy and joyous funksomeness this set is addictive...you just keep on coming back for more! That's not to say there are not some more poignant and touching moments particularly a beautiful take of "Down Here On The Ground" where all the musicians groove in absolute harmony with real feeling. And the 3 bonus tracks are every bit as strong as the ones on the original LP release in 1970, if not stronger! So what are you waiting for? For jazz fans and funk fans alike as well as music lovers in general, this disc is a must and an essential addition to any record collection worth the name! PS. "Live at the Lighthouse" comes strongly recommended too!
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best just got better!, December 26, 2000
As many Grant Green fan will attest to, ALIVE is simply his best, funkiest, and overall most completely exciting recording in his amazing career. I dare anyone who listens to this cd to not come the inevitable conclusion that ALIVE stands as one of the most, if not the best, truly incredible live jazz recordings ever made. No jazz guitar player can ever touch Green's funk grooves and solos on this lp --- and with Idris Muhammed on drums, the set really has a funk foundation that never ceases to amaze me after listening to it over and ove again. The fact that the whole package has now been remastered and gratefully adds a new, unreleasd cut ("Maiden Voyage")is like walking down a mine shaft and having a new, shiny diamond fall into your lap --- I've been waiting for any extra songs from this night for 10 years - and now have one! If you are building your rare groove-jazz funk collection this cd will stand the test of time and become one of your most played and prized possessions...enjoy.
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by Grant Green 
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