Jazz Articles about Grant Green

Grant Green: Carryin' On

by John Ballon
December 19, 2003

Having firmly established himself as the '60s jazz guitarist second only to the great Wes Montgomery, Grant Green was willing and able to move into something new and give himself up to the emerging funk wave that would seep across the '70s.

Attacked by purists as Grant's grand selling-out, these recordings have been rediscovered and widely sampled by legions of acid-jazz aficionados. Hypnotically rhythmic and quintessentially grooving, the five tracks on this straight reissue are all exceptionally tasty bursts of ...

Grant Green: Retrospective

by Scott Morrow
December 9, 2002

About five years ago, I heard guitarist Grant Green's "Ain't it Funky Now," a burnin' J.B. cover on Blue and Funky , a various artists Hammond organ compilation from Blue Note. I’d never heard anything like his honest, cutting tone – it rocked and funked like crazy. I hadn’t purchased much jazz, other than Miles and Coltrane, since I was in high school. And I’d always hated jazz guitar – guitars were supposed to be distorted! Now, 30-plus Green CDs ...

Grant Green: Retrospective 1961-1966

by C. Andrew Hovan
December 1, 2002

While the history books will more than likely survey the lineage of jazz guitar by focusing on such technically dazzling plectrists as Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, and Kenny Burrell, a wider view with a focus on peripheral talents will likely support the fact that instrumental proficiency is but a mere part of the overall success of an artist. So while not the astounding showman that Montgomery was, Grant Green was no less a vital guitarist and one who could generate ...

Grant Green, Jr.: Introducing G.G.

by Joe Lazar
September 3, 2002

Soul Jazz is cheating. The recipe is tried and true: slick guitar, funky Rhodes and Hammond Organ, tight Drums and Bass, a full horn section. Music like this sounds good and makes folks happy with ease. It is also relatively formulaic.

Such is the scenario for guitarist Grant Green, Jr.’s new album, Introducing G.G.. The selections are soulful, the arrangements tight, the production clean. The rhythms get feet tapping, heads bobbing, and smiles around the room. But, as is often ...

Grant Green: The Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark

by Reid Thompson
December 1, 2001

Just like rice and beans, Grant Green and Sonny Clark created a synergy that was more than the sum of its parts. Nowhere is that more apparent than on “The Complete Quartets," where there were no horns competing for solos. The elegant, laid-back style that characterizes these recordings was the one in which both Green and Clark seemed most comfortable, and it shows.

Ironically, neither Green nor Clark was around to see any of this music released. Apparently due to ...

Grant Green: Talkin' About

by C. Andrew Hovan
January 1, 2000

Although it has now arrived posthumously, guitarist Grant Green is finally being recognized for the immense talent that he was. Through a recent biography and the active sampling of his ‘70s work by the acid jazz crowd, Green has become a hot commodity after the fact. The core of his most profound work is documented on Blue Note, yet it is oddly inexplicable that it has taken so long for the reissue of Talkin’ About, as it is clearly one ...

Grant Green: Grant's First Stand

by C. Andrew Hovan
January 1, 2000

Leaving his native St. Louis in 1959, guitarist Grant Green got his first big break appearing with tenor saxophonist Jimmy Forrest and made his recording debut on Forrest's All The Gin Is Gone. While in Chicago, he then appeared on organist Sam Lazar's Space Flight before hooking up with Lou Donaldson in New York. The rest of the story, as they say, would be history as Green's recording career with Blue Note would end up spanning the years 1961 to ...