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I find Jazz, as a genre, difficult to review. I mean I know why I like a Jazz CD, but getting that over into the written word, especially as I am far from a Jazz critic per se, has proved difficult to me over the years. But I couldn't let the chance of not expressing my delight in this CD pass by, so please excuse my ignorant with regard jazz terms and icons. The first reason why I was drawn to Mr. Grant Green, is, after reading his bio, he seems a un heard of name. I mean I have heard of Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, George Benson, and the like, but not Mr. Green. Upon discovering him, I choose this 1965 release to start my education. And what a education it is. As one of my fellow reviewers mentions else where it sounds like he is singing on his guitar playing. You can hear that most clearly on 'Matador'. I feel he was brave to want to venture onto a song that Mr. Coltrane had his own 'My favorite Things. I'll leave it up to you to decide if it holds it's own, but being a Jazz guitar lover, over the saxophone, I must say I prefer the version on offer here.
Things continue in the same vein with' Green Jeans', and 'Bedouin'. Words can't describe the beauty, at least not this reviewer, but trust me here's an artist in full control of his art. If that's not all, we also have the pleasure of the bonus cut 'Wives and Lovers'.
Mr. Green has remained in the shadows of the aforementioned jazz greats (especially Mr. Montgomery) and died in obscurity in 1979, at the age of 43, after battling a drug problem for many years, but left a body of work that all lovers of the jazz guitar should check out & see that he truly was the unsung hero of his generation. This is an excellent place to start. I doubt that you'll be disappointed
Particularly interesting from an historical perspective is Green's reworking of "My Favorite Things," the show tune that Coltrane had made famous in 1960. Trane reworked it many times, and by the time of his volcanic performance at the 1963 Newport Jazz Festival, it bore little resemblance to the gentle, Eastern-flavored waltz he'd created three years before.
Green brings "My Favorite Things" back to the way Coltrane originally recorded it. Tyner plays the familiar recurring vamp and Jones sets up the waltz beat over which he lays multiple rhythms. Because Green played a single-note style with little or no chording, the guitar easily takes the place of Trane's soprano sax.
The only way that I can describe Green's solo on the tune is that it sings. He stays with the complexity of Jones' drumming as well as Trane would and remains in firm control throughout the course of a great solo that recalls the saxophonist's work and phrasing without ever sacrificing his own unique voice. Careful jazz listeners who have not already done so will enjoy playing Grant's version of "My Favorite Things" back to back with any and all of Trane's incarnations.
The CD includes a great bonus track as well: the Bacharach tune "Wives and Lovers," which was recorded by Dionne Warwick. The original tune fairly oozes swinging '60s easy listening cheese, but as with nearly all Bacharach tunes it retains a nugget of melodic intelligence and integrity and Grant finds this core and taps it.
In fact, all the tunes on the release are nearly impeccable, so the inclusion of "Bedouin" from the great and underrated composer/pianist Duke Pearson is no surprise. Pearson's version on the now-deleted Blue Note release "Wahoo!" is a great Middle Eastern-flavored minor gem, and Green again proves himself up to the task of covering it, as he exploits its minor-keyed, exotic sound. Tyner, as elsewhere, works seamlessly behind Green and contributes a crystalline solo.
In 1965 pop music was getting ready to embark on an era when rock groups would think nothing of spending weeks and months on a recording session. Think of that when you put on "Matador," which Green and company recorded in one session. Yet "Matador" for some reason never found its way to the record bins (except in Japan) until Michael Cuscuna recently rescued it. Go figure.
Having Green's inventive guitar work in place of Coltrane's passionate sax, allows one to better compare this music with some of the more transcendental, guitar-influenced, polyrhythmic rock music that came out around the time of this recording
(Hendrix, Doors, Santana, etc.). One can really hear the influence of artists like Coltrane, Green, Tyner, and Jones on rock musicians. Actually on this recording Green makes a strong case for the belief that all the good riffs and sounds in rock music have been sampled or stolen from jazz and blues greats. I mean, listen to Bedouin, or My Favorite Things, and ask yourself if you've ever heard more thoughtful, enlightening jam sessions. Green, Jones, Tyner, and Cranshaw are all very lyrical musicians, and to have them come together on this recording represents a truely special occassion in Jazz. It doesn't get much better than this in a quartet setting.
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