Grant Green - Born To Be Blue

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:10
Size: 135.5 MB
Styles: Bop, Guitar jazz
Year: 1962/1989
Art: Front

[6:29] 1. Someday My Prince Will Come
[4:56] 2. Born To Be Blue
[4:41] 3. Born To Be Blue (Alternate Take)
[6:05] 4. If I Should Lose You
[8:04] 5. Back In Your Own Back Yard
[5:50] 6. My One And Only Love
[6:21] 7. Count Every Star
[7:57] 8. Cool Blues
[8:44] 9. Outer Space

Bass – Sam Jones; Drums – Louis Hayes; Guitar – Grant Green; Piano – Sonny Clark; Tenor Saxophone – Ike Quebec. Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. B3 recorded on December 23, 1961. All other titles recorded March 1st, 1962. Digitally remastered.

Although Grant Green provided his share of groove-oriented soul-jazz and modal post-bop, his roots were hard bop, and it is in a bop-oriented setting that the guitarist excels on Born to Be Blue. Most of the material on this five-star album was recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's New Jersey studio on December 11, 1961, when Green was joined by tenor titan Ike Quebec, pianist Sonny Clark, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Louis Hayes. Tragically, Quebec was near the end of his life -- the distinctive saxman died of lung cancer at the age of 44 on January 16, 1963 -- but there is no evidence of Quebec's declining health on Born to Be Blue. He was playing as authoritatively as ever well into 1962, and the saxman is in fine form on hard-swinging interpretations of "Someday My Prince Will Come" and Al Jolson's "Back in Your Own Back Yard." It's interesting to hear Quebec playing bop, for his big, breathy tone was right out of swing and was greatly influenced by Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster. Although Quebec and Green (who was 14 years younger) had very different musical backgrounds, they were always quite compatible musically. They clearly enjoyed a strong rapport on the uptempo selections as well as ballads like "My One and Only Love" and Mel Torme's "Born to Be Blue." Originally a vinyl LP, this album was reissued on CD in 1989, when Blue Note added an alternate take of the title song and a previously unreleased version of Charlie Parker's "Cool Blues." ~Alex Henderson

Born To Be Blue

---

Harold Vick - Steppin' Out!

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1963
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:25
Size: 84,1 MB
Art: Front

(7:29) 1. Our Miss Brooks
(6:12) 2. Trimmed In Blue
(4:42) 3. Laura
(6:28) 4. Dotty's Dream
(5:41) 5. Vicksville
(5:51) 6. Steppin' Out

This soul-jazz outing by tenor saxophonist Harold Vick (his recording debut as a leader) casts him in a role that was often occupied by Stanley Turrentine. Vick, with a quintet that also includes trumpeter Blue Mitchell, guitarist Grant Green, organist John Patton, and drummer Ben Dixon, performs four blues, a slightly trickier original (five of the six songs are his), plus the ballad "Laura" on this CD reissue.

There are no real surprises, but no disappointments either on what would be Harold Vick's only chance to lead a Blue Note date. At 27, he was already a fine player.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/steppin-out%21-mw0001986414

Personnel: Harold Vick - tenor saxophone; Blue Mitchell - trumpet; John Patton - organ; Grant Green - guitar; Ben Dixon - drums

Steppin' Out!

---

Grant Green - Funk in France - Paris to Antibes

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 118:06
Size: 271,2 MB
Art: Front

( 4:33)  1. I Don't Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing
( 4:21)  2. Oleo (Live): Oleo
( 7:18)  3. Insensatez (How Insensitive)
( 8:07)  4. Untitled Blues
( 7:01)  5. Sonnymoon for Two
( 7:05)  6. I Wish You Love
(18:00)  7. Upshot
(14:34)  8. Hurt So Bad
(19:46)  9. Upshot
(27:17) 10. Hi-Heel Sneakers

Resonance's Funk in France: From Paris to Antibes (1969-1970) is two archival recordings in one package. Most of the first disc is devoted to an October 26, 1969 concert given at La Maison de la Radio's Studio 104, where Grant Green was supported by bassist Larry Ridley, drummer Don Lamond, and, on "I Wish You Love," guitarist Barney Kessel, while the second part of Funk in France combines four highlights from two July 1970 appearances at the Antibes Jazz Festival. While the two performances were separated by a matter of months, they're quite different in execution. The Paris concert finds Green pushing toward the funky pop-jazz hybrid he'd make his specialty in the early '70s but not quite committing to it just yet. Green doesn't hide his allegiance to funk by opening the proceedings with a percolating version of James Brown's "I Don't Want Nobody to Give Me Nothin' (Open Up the Door and I'll Get It Myself)," a version that doesn't serve as a keynote as much as a harbinger to what came later. Apart from a loosely lyrical "Untitled Blues," Green and company are in relatively straightforward bop territory, playing two Sonny Rollins tunes and the standard "I Wish You Love" along with Antonio Carlos Jobim's "How Insensitive." It's a lively set, but understated when compared to the cooking selections from Antibes.

Working with an organist and saxophonist lets Green lean into R&B, and the quartet digs in hard, spending nearly 20 minutes grooving on the original "Upshot," then extending Tommy Tucker's dance hit "Hi-Heel Sneakers" to nearly half an hour. Here, Green is woodshedding the hard jazz-funk he'd debut on Alive!, the landmark Blue Note LP he'd record just a month later, and while the performances on Funk in France are neither as pop-oriented nor hard-charging as the material there, that's also their appeal. Green has his style in place and he has the freedom to jam as long as he desires. The results aren't just mesmerizing, they're danceable. ~ Stephen Tomas Erlewine https://www.allmusic.com/album/funk-in-france-from-paris-to-antibes-1969-1970-mw0003168826

Personnel: Grant Green – guitar; Larry Ridley – bass; Don Lamond – drums; Barney Kessel – guitar; Claude Bartee – tenor saxophone; Clarence Palmer – organ; Billy Wilson – drums

Funk in France - Paris to Antibes

---

Grant Green Jr - Thank You Mr. Bacharach

Styles: Guitar Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 31:12
Size: 71,8 MB
Art: Front

(5:53) 1. Wives and Lovers
(6:18) 2. Anyone Who Had A Heart
(4:25) 3. Walk On By
(4:29) 4. The Look of Love
(4:41) 5. Here I Go Again
(5:23) 6. I'll Never Fall In Love Again

Guitarist and singer Grant Green Jr. has kept it funky with his Masters of Groove music project (with Bernard Purdie and Rueben Wilson) and his own jazz and original funk band. His newest project, a tribute album to Burt Bacharach, was born from hearing his late father’s (jazz great Grant Green) homage to him in his Blue Note Records days.

“He is one of my favorite American composers,” Grant says. “His sense of melody in a song like ‘Alfie’ is beautiful and timeless.”

Grant says his love for all types of music made him the multidimensional musician that he is today. The self-proclaimed Led Zeppelin and Johnny Cash fan recalls how one-time pop songs such as “Days of Wine and Roses,” “Misty,” and “Stella by Starlight” later became jazz standards.

“Basically that’s what I’m doing with the Burt Bacharach stuff, he says. “It’s great material that you want to put your own spin on.”

While Bacharach is an inspiration, he has many others. Grant Jr. spent part of his childhood in Detroit where Motown legends would jam at his house, and New York City, where he had a bird’s eye view of the jazz scene.

His Detroit neighbors included Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight along with members of the Four Tops and the Temptations. Miles Davis was known to join impromptu jam sessions in their home.

The musicianship of Grant’s father, however, has had the greatest sway over him. “He highly influenced me,” Grant says. “He’s why I play the guitar.”

The elder Grant, who inspired the likes of Carlos Santana and George Benson, was not interested in his son following in his footsteps. He preferred that young Grant become a doctor or a lawyer. But from adolescence the son had studied his father playing the guitar, and at age 17 Grant gained his musical respect.
https://patch.com/georgia/duluth/calendar/event/20221008/1904659/thank-you-mr-bacharach-grant-green-jr-plays-burt-bacharach

Thank You Mr. Bacharach

---

Horace Parlan - Happy Frame of Mind

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1963
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:56
Size: 89,4 MB
Art: Front

(8:49)  1. Home Is Africa
(6:11)  2. A Tune for Richard
(5:58)  3. Back from the Gig
(5:59)  4. Dexi
(5:44)  5. Kucheza Blues
(6:13)  6. Happy Frame of Mind

Happy Frame of Mind finds Horace Parlan breaking away from the soul-inflected hard bop that had become his trademark, moving his music into more adventurous, post-bop territory. Aided by a first-rate quintet trumpeter Johnny Coles, tenor saxophonist Booker Ervin, guitarist Grant Green, bassist Butch Warren, drummer Billy Higgins Parlan produces a provocative set that is grounded in soul and blues but stretches out into challenging improvisations. None of the musicians completely embrace the avant-garde, but there are shifting tonal textures and unpredictable turns in the solos which have been previously unheard in Parlan's music. 

Perhaps that's the reason why Happy Frame of Mind sat unissued in Blue Note's vaults until 1976, when it was released as part of a double-record Booker Ervin set, but the fact of the matter is, it's one of Parlan's most successful efforts, finding the perfect middle ground between accessible, entertaining jazz and more adventurous music. ~Stephen Thomas Erlewine  http://www.allmusic.com/album/happy-frame-of-mind-mw0000207456

Personnel:  Horace Parlan – piano;  Johnny Coles – trumpet;  Booker Ervin - tenor saxophone;  Grant Green - guitar;  Butch Warren – bass;  Billy Higgins – drums.

Happy Frame of Mind

---

Jack McDuff - Goodnight, It's Time To Go

Styles: Hard Bop, Soul Jazz
Year: 1961
File: MP3@128K/s
Time: 36:11
Size: 33,4 MB
Art: Front

( 6:18) 1. Goodnight, It's Time To Go
( 4:53) 2. Sanctified Waltz
( 6:24) 3. Mcduff Speaking
(10:52) 4. A Smooth One
( 7:42) 5. I'll Be Seeing You

This 1961 date was organist Jack McDuff's first with his regular working band. That group included two players who would become synonymous with the organ combo, soul-jazz sound: tenor saxophonist Harold Vick and the up-and-coming guitarist Grant Green. Vick's tough, versatile, if not particularly distinctive, sound is well-suited to McDuff's needs. Green, however, is by far the more interesting contributor. On this date, his gifts are already well developed, including his skillful use of space and a singular ability to find or create a tune's rhythmic core. Unlike his 1960 debut, McDuff does without a bass player here, using his organ pedals instead, as he would in live performance. When his feet do the walking, McDuff becomes a complete player, locking in on grooves that could never be matched by a hired gun brought in on bass. The highlights are the McDuff originals: "Sanctified Waltz," a gospel-influenced piece that avoids the holy roller excesses that often encumber such numbers, and "McDuff Speaking," a full-tilt, soul-jazz gem.~ Jim Todd https://www.allmusic.com/album/goodnight-its-time-to-go-mw0000865700

Personnel: Jack McDuff - organ; Harold Vick - tenor saxophone; Grant Green - guitar; Joe Dukes - drums

Goodnight, It's Time To Go

---

Charles Kynard - Legends Of Acid Jazz

Styles: Soul Jazz
Year: 1999
File: MP3@224K/s
Time: 76:46
Size: 123,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:57) 1. Afro-Disiac
(5:07) 2. Bella Donna
(9:07) 3. Trippin'
(7:14) 4. Odds On
(7:56) 5. Sweetheart
(5:05) 6. Chanson Du Nuit
(7:55) 7. Wa-Tu-Wa-Zui (Beautiful People)
(4:38) 8. Winter's Child
(6:11) 9. Zebra Walk
(9:30) 10. Something
(9:03) 11. Change Up

Charles Kynard (1933-79) had a brief, rather low-key career as an organist. By day, he maintained a full-time career working with kids with special needs and taught piano between gigs and his job. He only recorded infrequently, doing sessions and two albums under his own name for Pacific Jazz in the early 1960s and several sessions and three records under his own name for Mainstream Records during 1971-74. But it is, perhaps, the four records he did for Prestige between 1968 and 1970 that the organist is best known for. Legends of Acid Jazz combines the last two of these, Afro-Disiac and Wa-Tu-Wa-Zui. On both, Kynard showcases his remarkable ability to exploit the heck out of an interesting groove. The best of his originals usually sticks to variations of the blues or out-and-out boogaloos. But it's the machine-gun attack of his left hand and the churning grind he maintains with his feet - despite the ever-presence of a bassist - that separates Kynard's playing from the crowd.The counterpoint he offers with his right hand is what usually puts the fun in his funk.

Afro-Disiac pits the organist in a quintet with tenor staple Houston Person and elevated by the presence of guitarist Grant Green. This was a reunion of sorts for Kynard and Green, the two having appeared together on 1968's The Soul Brotherhood. The originals, mostly by Kynard's school chum Richard Fritz, and Kynard's eloquent cushioning offer an ideal environment for the guitarist - much more favorable than Green's own recordings from the period. Kynard is more of a featured presence on the Wa-Tu-Wa-Zui, adding his electric piano stylings to "Winter's Child" and the dance floor classic, "Zebra Walk." Here, Kynard revels in a sextet that features the much-lamented honker Rusty Bryant, trumpeter Virgil Jones and guitarist Melvin Sparks. The tunes aren't as memorable as the first session and the playing doesn't have the edge or energy that Kynard could generate elsewhere (for evidence, check out the monster Reelin' with the Feelin', which is paired with Wa-Tu-Wa-Zui on the British BGP CD). But this "legend of acid jazz" is worth hearing and exploring and for fans of guitarist Grant Green, the first six songs are required listening. ~Douglas Payne https://www.allaboutjazz.com/legends-of-acid-jazz-charles-kynard-prestige-records-review-by-douglas-payne

Players: Charles Kynard: organ, electric piano; Houston Person, Rusty Bryant: tenor sax; Virgil Jones: trumpet; Grant Green, Melvin Sparks: guitar; Jimmy Lewis: Fender bass; Idris Muhammad, Bernard Purdie: drums.

Legends Of Acid Jazz

---

Grant Green - Ain't It Funky Now! The Original Jam Master (Vol. 1)

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:48
Size: 119,3 MB
Art: Front

(9:56)  1. Ain't It Funky Now
(5:46)  2. Ease Back
(9:18)  3. It's Your Thing
(4:45)  4. Love On A Two Way Street
(8:25)  5. Let The Music Take Your Mind
(5:55)  6. I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door I'll Get It Myself)/Cold Sweat - Medley
(7:39)  7. Betcha By Golly Wow

Ain't It Funky Now! is the third of three thematically organized Grant Green compilations in the Blue Note Original Jam Master Series all of which focus on his final period recording for the label, between 1969 and 1972. Green was deeply interested in popular Black music in his late period and that is reflected in these seven cuts taken from six different albums. The title track, of course, is the a read of the James Brown classic and also features Blue Mitchell on trumpet and Idris Muhammad on drums, among others. At nearly ten minutes, it's a deep-stretch groove piece with Green's guitar playing gritty and dirty center-stage. Other highlights include "Ease Back," a Meters cover from Green's Carryin' On outing, and a nasty version of the Isley Brothers' "It's Your Thing," with Chuck Rainey and Muhammad in the rhythm section. The set closes with a decidedly non-funky yet very soulful cover of the Stylistics' "Betcha by Golly Wow" with Wilton Felder on bass, Hall Bobby Porter on congas, and fine soprano and tenor work from Claude Bartee, Jr.. Most Green-o-philes will have all this stuff, but these comps are cheap and sequenced wonderfully. ~ Thom Jurek https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-original-jam-master-vol-1-aint-it-funky-now%21-mw0000205590

Ain't It Funky Now! The Original Jam Master (Vol. 1)

---

Grant Green - Carryin' On

Styles: Guitar Jazz 
Year: 1970
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:30
Size: 86,6 MB
Art: Front

( 5:47)  1. Ease Back
( 6:34)  2. Hurt So Bad
( 6:12) 3. I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door I'll Get It Myself)

(10:04)  4. Upshot
( 8:51)  5. Cease The Bombing

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 authentic funk. Carryin' On contains two solid covers, the Meters' "Ease Back" and James Brown's "I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door I'll Get It Myself," which alone make it well worth the money. These are about the funkiest tracks ever laid down by any jazz artist, completely danceable and sample ready. In fact, they are so infectious that they have the tendency to evoke uncontrollable movement in ass and limb. Neal Creaque's "Cease the Bombing," (later covered by Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers) floats like a smooth sailing trip across the ether with Green majestically at the helm. A consistent pleasure to listen to, this should be one of the first jazz purchases for those who need a beat in the soundtrack of their lives. ~John Ballon https://www.allaboutjazz.com/grant-green-carryin-on-grant-green-by-john-ballon.php

Personnel: Grant Green: Guitar; Claude Bartee: Tenor Sax; Willie Bivens: Vibes; Clarence Palmer: Electric Piano; Earl Neal Creaque: Electric Piano (on "Cease the Bombing" only); Jimmy Lewis: Fender Bass; Idris Muhammad: Drums

Carryin' On

---

Ike Quebec - Ballads

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1997
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:43
Size: 122,0 MB
Art: Front

(7:24)  1. Nancy (With The Laughing Face)
(4:54)  2. Born To Be Blue
(6:30)  3. The Man I Love - Digitally Remastered
(5:54)  4. Lover Man
(5:21)  5. Willow Weep For Me
(6:04)  6. If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight)
(6:39)  7. Everything Happens To Me - Long Version
(5:10)  8. Imagination
(4:43)  9. There Is No Greater Love

Tenor saxophonist Ike Quebec always had a big, warm sound, and he was particularly expert on ballads. This 1997 sampler CD surprisingly does not have any examples of his early work on Blue Note in the mid- to late 1940s, instead concentrating on selections from four of Quebec's seven late-period Blue Note albums, a few songs originally issued as 45s, and "Born to Be Blue," which is taken from an album by guitarist Grant Green. The eight ballads are all standards and put the focus very much on Quebec, making for a fine mood album even if acquiring the full sessions (all but "It Might As Well Be Spring" are currently available on CD) is preferable. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/ballads-mw0000024976

Personnel: Ike Quebec (tenor saxophone); Sonny Clark (piano); Freddie Roach, Sir Charles Thompson, Earl Vandyke (organ); Grant Green, Willie Jones (guitar); Milt Hinton, Sam Jones (bass); Art Blakey, Louis Hayes, Al Harewood, J.C. Heard, Wilbert Hogan (drums).

Ballads

---

Grant Green - Slick! (Live at Oil Can Harry's)

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:04
Size: 154,0 MB
Art: Front

( 9:03)  1. Now’s The Time - Live
(26:04)  2. How Insensitive (Insensatez) - Live
(31:57)  3. Medley: Vulcan Princess / Skin Tight / Woman’s Gotta Have It / Boogie On Reggae Woman / For the Love of Money - Live

Resonance's Slick! Live at Oil Can Harry's presents recordings made on September 5, 1975 at the Vancouver, British Columbia club Oil Can Harry's. Grant Green spent much of his final years on the road, but after he left Blue Note in 1974 he wasn't recorded much: just two other records, both studio sessions. Slick! represents his latest-known live recording, and it undercuts the conventional wisdom that the guitarist frittered away his final years. Supported by Ronnie Ware on bass, Emmanuel Riggins on electric piano, drummer Greg Williams, and percussionist Gerald Izzard, Green is thoroughly within his jazz-funk groove, as he bends Charlie Parker's "Now's the Time" to fit his new style. "Now's the Time" finds a counterpart in a lovely, relaxed version of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "How Insensitive," which rides its mellow rhythms for upwards of 30 minutes. Still, the centerpiece -- and perhaps the best indication of how Green worked in the latter stages of his career -- is a half-hour medley blending Stanley Clarke's "Vulcan Princess," the Ohio Players' "Skin Tight," Bobby Womack's "Woman's Gotta Have It," Stevie Wonder's "Boogie on Reggae Woman," and the O'Jays' "For the Love of Money." Here, there are no borders between jazz, R&B, bop, and funk, and it not only cooks, but the solos by Green and Riggins are dexterous and surprising, lending Slick! real substance in addition to being a funky good time. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine https://www.allmusic.com/album/slick%21-live-at-oil-can-harrys-mw0003168857

Personnel: Guitar – Grant Green; Bass – Ronnie Ware; Drums – Greg Williams

Slick! (Live at Oil Can Harry's)

---

Grant Green - Shades Of Green

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1972
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:46
Size: 92,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:55)  1. I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door I'll Get It Myself)/Cold Sweat - Medley
(4:12)  2. Sunrise, Sunset
(4:34)  3. Never My Love
(4:24)  4. Got To Be There
(6:22)  5. California Green
(4:30)  6. If You Really Love Me
(4:50)  7. Cast Your Fate To The Wind
(4:56)  8. In The Middle

A stellar album from Grant Green very different than most of his other work for Blue Note, and a sly electric groover recorded with vibist Billy Wooten! The sound here is a bit more spacious than some of Grant's earlier albums, yet no less funky thanks to a hip undercurrent of soul in the drums, and arrangements from Wade Marcus that keep things fluid throughout. Wooten's vibes are wonderful, a ringing counterpoint to Green's great lines on guitar and even the more familiar tunes on the record turn out to be really unique readings here thanks to the arrangements and overall conception. Mellow moments are dripping with plenty of soul, and the funky ones are pretty great too and titles include a killer medley of James Brown's "I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing" and "Cold Sweat", a heavy version of his instrumental groover "In The Middle", and a great original called "California Green"plus "Never My Love", "Sunrise Sunset", "Got To Be There", and "If You Really Love Me".  © 1996-2019, Dusty Groove, Inc. https://www.dustygroove.com/item/5369/Grant-Green:Shades-Of-Green

Personnel: Grant Green - guitar; Billy Wooten - vibes; Emmanuel Riggins - electric piano, clavinet; Wilton Felder - electric bass; Nesbert "Stix" Hooper - drums; King Errisson - conga; Harold Caldwell - percussion; Joe Newman, Joe Wilder, Victor Paz, Jimmy Sedlar - trumpet; Harry DiVito - trombone; Dick Hickson - bass trombone; Jim Buffington - french horn; Phil Bodner, Romeo Penque, George Marge, John Leone - woodwinds

Shades Of Green

---

Horace Parlan - Up & Down

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1961
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:58
Size: 103,3 MB
Art: Front

( 9:49)  1. The Book's Beat
( 6:10)  2. Up And Down
( 7:08)  3. Fugee
(11:41)  4. The Other Part Of Town
( 4:06)  5. Lonely Blues
( 6:02)  6. Light Blue

I have a new hero: Pianist Horace Parlan. Until recently, I had heard of Parlan, but never really heard him. I certainly never knew his back story. It's inspirational and his music is pretty damn good, too. Parlan had a handicap. As a child, he lost some function in his right hand due to polio. Various bios disagree on the extent of the loss. Some say two fingers, others three. Either way, it's the kind of injury that makes a career as a pianist sound impossible. Yet Parlan found a way to compensate something to do with developing a powerful left hand. In any event, he had a long, successful career as a bop pianist. Of course the music stands on its own, regardless of how it's made. Handicap or no handicap, if the music weren't terrific, there would be nothing to talk about. And it is terrific. (For example, catch him on Charles Mingus' 1959 classic Mingus Ah Um.)  Up and Down, a 1961 bop-and-blues album, is the perfect introduction to Horace Parlan. It features three remarkable solists: Parlan on piano, Booker Ervin on tenor, and Grant Green on guitar. Together, they make wonderful, swinging music that borders on soul-jazz.  While some pianists made their names with jaw-dropping speed and technique think Art Tatum or Oscar Peterson  Parlan (by necessity or choice) goes the other way. He is wonderfully inventive. At times, he sounds almost Monk-ish, choosing unusual chords and odd notes. On every tune, without exception he is soulful and bluesy. Grant Green, of course, is tasteful, as always. Like Parlan, Green does not amaze with lightning-fast runs. Instead, he wrings the blues for every drop of emotion he can find, including the quiet spaces between notes. He is the perfect complement for Parlan.  Finally, there's Booker Ervin. Unlike Parlan and Green, Ervin can shred with the best. On Up and Down, he turns it on and off. On the opener, "Books Beat," Ervin is sassy and aggressive. On the ballad "Lonely One," he is all swirling smoke. And on the closer, "Light Blue," Ervin shows off his technique a toe-tapping, happy blues that sends the listener off with a smile. Up and Down is a great ensemble album. It's full of clever, swinging music. I could listen to it all day. And while you don't need know anything about Parlan's bum right hand to appreciate the music, it helps. The man is an inspiration.

Personnel:  Horace Parlan - piano;  Booker Ervin - tenor saxophone;  Grant Green - guitar;  George Tucker - bass;  Al Harewood - drums

Up & Down

---

George Braith - Soul Stream

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:13
Size: 86,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:26)  1. The Man I Love
(7:52)  2. Outside Around The Corner
(3:15)  3. Soul Stream
(6:23)  4. Boop Bop Bing Bash
(7:53)  5. Billy Told
(5:21)  6. Jo Anne

Picking up where "Braith-Away," athe final and most successful song on Two Souls in One, left off, Soul Stream finds George Braith coming into his own. Where his debut felt hampered by uneven material and unsure execution of Braith's trademark double-sax attack, Soul Stream is confident and assured. Soul Stream concentrates on mildly adventurous hard bop with soul-jazz overtones, which usually come from organist Billy Gardner and guitarist Grant Green. Braith doesn't rely on the double horn nearly as much as before, using it for harmonic coloring and musical texture. Only on "Billy Told," a languid reworking of "The William Tell Overture," does the technique fall flat on the other songs, the double sax sounds bizarre, but it accentuates the way Braith wants to push boundaries. Unfortunately, Braith never truly cuts loose, but there's enough provocative material and cerebral grooves on Soul Stream to make it a worthwhile listen. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine https://www.allmusic.com/album/soul-stream-mw0000465074

Personnel:  George Braith - tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, stritch;  Billy Gardner - organ;  Grant Green - guitar;  Hugh Walker - drums

Soul Stream

---

Grant Green - Funk in France: From Paris to Antibes (1969-1970) Disc 1 And Disc 2

Album: Funk in France: From Paris to Antibes (1969-1970) Disc 1

Styles: Guitar Jazz 
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:39
Size: 130,4 MB
Art: Front

( 4:34)  1. I Don't Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing (Open Up the Door I'll Get It Myself)
( 4:24)  2. Oleo
( 7:19)  3. How Insensitive (Insensatez)
( 8:07)  4. Untitled Blues
( 7:00)  5. Sonnymoon for Two
( 7:08)  6. I Wish You Love
(18:04)  7. Upshot

Now recognised as one of the presiding prodigies of guitar jazz, Grant Green died in 1979 having narrowly missed out on the sort of bigtime success enjoyed by the likes of Wes Montgomery and, especially, George Benson ironically Green was scheduled to play a gig at George Benson’s club in Harlem when he was finally felled by a heart attack. He was 43 years old, and his reputation was soon in eclipse. Indeed Sharony Andrews Green’s biography is subtitled Rediscovering the Forgotten Genius of Jazz Guitar.  Well, the rediscovery of Grant Green is fully under way, thanks to his music being embraced and redeployed first by Acid Jazz performers, then hip hop artists, not to mention devotees of funk. More importantly, there is a growing recognition of the true stature of his recordings such as the 1963 classic Idle Moments on Blue Note. And now Resonance Records has continued its campaign of unearthing classic lost performances with a flood of Grant Green collector’s items.  Released on vinyl as a Record Store Day special, Funk in France comes in a staggeringly lavish double gatefold cover which opens up to reveal two albums, consisting of three discs all told The Round House comprises a single disc and you could call it both a live album and a studio album it was recorded live, but in ideal acoustic conditions in a studio at La Maison de la Radio, the headquarters of the ORTF (the French Office of Radio and Television) in Paris on 26 October 1969. Then there is Haute Funk, a double album, also live, preserving an Antibes Jazz Festival performance on 18 July 1970. The Paris set opens with a title that almost consumes the word count for this review: I Don’t Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing (Open Up the Door I’ll Get it Myself). The fact that this is a James Brown track clearly announces Grant Green’s intention to move funk-wards. It’s dark, edgy and searching with Green playing percussively. 

Larry Ridley’s bass writhes and wraps around the guitar lines like ivy on a tree branch. Sonny Rollins’ tune Oleo is delivered in a hip, open, breezy rendition with Green creating colours and highlights as if he’s shearing glistening fragments off a block of ice.  But the set really begins to cook with Tom Jobim’s Insensatez, introduced by the excited stopwatch ticking of Don Lamond’s drums and underpinned by, then interwoven with, Ridley’s bass. Green’s exploration of the song is plangent and (appropriately enough) resonant. The relaxed and funky Untitled Blues is followed by another high point, Charles Trenet’s I Wish You Love, for which Barney Kessel joins the trio. The duelling guitars are an occasion for sharply clipped playing that paradoxically gives rise to a fat warm sound, with a killer sense of laidback timing, playing elastically behind the beat in a way that makes the listener feel the cares of the day simply drop away. The guitarists explore the tune almost pianistically, giving it unexpected stature and profundity.  Haute Funk is very different, It consists of four long tracks, each allocated the entire side of an LP. On Upshot (the first of two versions here) Green takes a headlong plunge into Montgomery-style soul jazz. One might expect Clarence Palmer’s organ to similarly hue close to Jimmy Smith, but on the contrary his sound is much more brooding, menacing and modernistic.

However, it’s difficult to draw too many conclusions about the supporting musicians. The crystal clarity of the Paris radio studio recording is gone here and the rest of the band often seems to be recessed behind the dominant sound of Green’s guitar. Nevertheless, the different line up, with Claude Bartee on tenor sax and Billy Wilson on drums, and the urgent driving energy of the festival performances are compelling. Hurt So Bad (a hit for Little Anthony and the Imperials) sees Claude Bartee’s tenor taking a welcome spell in the spotlight. (Bartee had previously played with Grant Green in New York and would go on to work for him for several years.) Grant Green seems to pick his way carefully and thoughtfully in a response to the sax which manages to both float and drive the tune forward.  This is an almost shockingly sumptuous package, with a full size 12-page colour booklet in addition to the elaborate heavy duty sleeve. And the vinyl is top quality: 180gram pressings, mastered by Bernie Grundman. Nevertheless, it’s the original tapes which count and the Paris radio studio recordings beat the Antibes sets hands down. The Paris sessions also benefit from brevity all of the Antibes tracks are extended workouts. On the other hand, the presence of Claude Bartee on tenor in Antibes adds a rousing additional dimension. Producer Zev Feldman’s liner notes mention that he seriously considered not including the Paris sessions in this package at all (because they’d already escaped into the wild in the form of a video and subsequent bootleg audio recordings). Thank the jazz gods he relented. 

Those performances on their own are reason enough for this triple vinyl Green-fest.  Funk in France is a seriously luxuriant offering for any Grant Green aficionado or any lover of jazz guitar and it looks set to fly out the door on Record Store Day. And if annual orgies of vinyl aren’t your thing, you can pick up the deluxe double CD version. http://www.londonjazznews.com/2018/04/lp-review-grant-green-funk-in-france.html

Personnel:  Released May 25, 2018:  Grant Green - guitar;  Larry Ridley – bass;  Don Lamond - drums;  Barney Kessel - guitar (Track 6) - July 18 & 20, 1970 at the Antibes Jazz Festival in Juan-les-Pins:  Grant Green - guitar;  Claude Bartee – tenor saxophone;  Clarence Palmer – organ;  Billy Wilson - drums.

Funk in France: From Paris to Antibes (1969-1970) Disc 1
Album: Funk in France: From Paris to Antibes (1969-1970)  Disc 2

Time: 61:39
Size: 141,4 MB

(14:37)  1. Hurt So Bad
(19:47)  2. Upshot
(27:13)  3. Hi-Heel Sneakers

Funk in France: From Paris to Antibes (1969-1970) Disc 2

---

Johnny Hodges & Wild Bill Davis - Wings And Things

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1965
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:50
Size: 82,3 MB
Art: Front

(7:16)  1. Wings and Things
(3:16)  2. The Nearness of You
(3:56)  3. Imbo
(3:58)  4. Take The "A" Train
(7:47)  5. Spotted Dog
(2:43)  6. Casanova
(3:24)  7. Dow De Dow Dow Dow
(3:26)  8. Peg O'My Heart

One of the best records to offer the team of alto giant Johnny Hodges and Hammond player Wild Bill Davis not just because there's a great soul food cover on the front, but also because the group features Grant Green on guitar! 

The group plays a number of originals, with a solid soul jazz sound that borders on a Blue Note bag and titles include "Wings & Things", "Dow De Dow Dow Dow", "Casanova", and "Spotted Dog". (MGM pressing. Cover has wear & stains, with a cutout hole.)  © 1996-2018, Dusty Groove, Inc. https://www.dustygroove.com/item/11716/Johnny-Hodges-Wild-Bill-Davis:Wings-Things 

Personnel:  Johnny Hodges - alto saxophone;  Wild Bill Davis - organ;  Lawrence Brown - trombone;  Grant Green - guitar;   Hank Jones - piano;  Richard Davis - double bass;  Ben Dixon - drums

Wings And Things

---

Grant Green - The Original Jam Master Vol. 3: Mellow Madness

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:12
Size: 114.9 MB
Styles: Guitar jazz
Year: 2005
Art: Front

[ 8:51] 1. Cease The Bombing
[10:56] 2. Maiden Voyage
[ 8:59] 3. A Day In The Life
[ 6:39] 4. Down Here On The Ground
[14:45] 5. Fancy Free

Mellow Madness is the leadoff volume in Blue Note's Original Jam Masters Series compilation series that thematically focuses on guitarist Grant Green's late period with the label, from 1969 to 1972. Unlike the proceeding two discs, Mellow Madness is a more textured soul-jazz record. Its tunes comes from the same discs as on the latter volumes, but as "Cease the Bombing" by Neal Creque suggests, the spacious side of groove is what's highlighted here. Drummer Idris Muhammad, bassist Jimmy Lewis, and vibist Willie Bivins all shine on this laid-back shimmering beauty. And Green, in uncharacteristically laid-back fashion, makes every note count. Likewise, an 11-minute version of Herbie Hancock's "Maiden Voyage," from Grant's Alive! album, takes its time gathering steam and enlists tenorman Claude Bartee, Jr., organist Ronnie Foster and conguero Joseph Armstrong. But it is the set's closer, a stunning take on Donald Byrd's "Fancy Free" with bassist Wilton Felder, percussion master Hall Bobby Porter, and vibist Gary Coleman that sends it off with authority. Green's loping lead solo takes its time unfurling its knotty labyrinth while never leaving the groove. As other layers enter and leave, he caps, tags, underscores and extends every other solo in the mix. For the money, this is a great way to re-evaluate the guitarist's mature years. ~Thom Jurek

The Original Jam Master Vol. 3: Mellow Madness mc
The Original Jam Master Vol. 3: Mellow Madness zippy

---

Grant Green - The Original Jam Master Vol. 2: For The Funk Of It

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:26
Size: 106.3 MB
Styles: Guitar jazz
Year: 2005
Art: Front

[10:02] 1. Upshot
[ 3:25] 2. The Final Comedown
[ 5:31] 3. Cantaloupe Woman
[ 6:04] 4. Dracula
[ 6:20] 5. California Green
[15:00] 6. Flood In Franklin Park

For the Funk of It is the second thematically focused volume in Blue Note's Original Jam Master Series that draws from guitarist Grant Green's late-period recordings for the label, from 1969 to 1972. Some of the players involved in these sessions include drummer Idris Muhammad, saxophonist Claude Bartee, Jr., Cornell Dupree (rhythm guitar), percussionists Hall Bobby Porter and Ray Armando, bassist Chuck Rainey, organist Emanuel Riggins, and many others. The material here is less bombastic than the soul and funk covers on Green's Ain't It Funky Now!, but they are still deep in the jukebox soul-jazz groove that was rapidly disappearing during the era. The set kicks off with a rare Green boogaloo original in "Upshot," from the Carryin' On album, with great solo work from Green, Clarence Palmer on electric piano, and vibist Willie Bivins. Another Green tune, "California Green," with a big band that includes Stix Hooper and Wilton Felder, appears near the end of the set. Of the covers, the read of Ben Dixon's "Cantaloupe Woman" is a stunner, with great interplay between Muhammad and Armando. Not as in-your-face as volume three in the series, but more in-the-pocket and groove-drenched. This is a fine comp for the cash. ~Thom Jurek

The Original Jam Master Vol. 2: For The Funk Of It mc
The Original Jam Master Vol. 2: For The Funk Of It zippy

---

Sonny Red - Breezing/A Story Tale/The Mode/Images (2-Disc Set)

Sonny Red (as), Blue Mitchell (tp), Yusef Lateef, Clifford Jordan (ts), Barry Harris, Tommy Flanagan, Ronnie Matthews, Cedar Walton (p), Grant Green (g), Bob Cranshaw, Art Davis, George Tucker (b), Albert 'Tootie' Heath, Elvin Jones, Jimmy Cobb (d).

Inspired by Charlie Parker and then Jackie McLean, the widely experienced, Detroit-born altoist Sonny Red, nee Sylvester Kyner (1932-1980) was an archetypal Motor City bopper, who, like many of his confreres there, also absorbed the blues-drenched lines of pianist Bud Powell. Forthright, direct, unpretentious, a skilled soloist with a strong feeling for the blues, he played and recorded with some of the finest jazzmen around.

The presence here of such luminous talents as, most notably, pianist Barry Harris, along with fellow pianist Tommy Flanagan, trumpeter Blue Mitchell, saxophonists Clifford Jordan and Yusef Lateef, and guitarist Grant Green left no doubt about his stature among them. Despite this and the fact that he also worked with such marquee names as Art Blakey, Kenny Dorham, Donald Byrd, Curtis Fuller and Paul Quinichette, he never quite made the breakthrough his skills suggested he would and his recordings have been difficult to find.This collection of quartet, quintet and sextet settings brings together four albums he made for the Jazzland label during one of the most productive spells of his career and shows why he was held in such esteem by his contemporaries.

Album: Breezing/A Story Tale/The Mode/Images (Disc 1)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 78:53
Size: 180.6 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 2012

[5:02] 1. Brother B
[4:03] 2. All I Do Is Dream Of You
[5:33] 3. The New Blues
[4:36] 4. Ditty
[6:27] 5. 'teef
[6:06] 6. Breezin'
[4:43] 7. A Handful Of Stars
[2:52] 8. If There Is Someone Lovelier Than You
[3:52] 9. Cumberland Court
[4:50] 10. A Story Tale
[5:39] 11. You're Driving Me Crazy
[3:27] 12. Defiance
[6:02] 13. Prints
[5:02] 14. Hip Pockets
[5:16] 15. They Say It's Wonderful
[5:16] 16. If I Didn't Care

---

Album: Breezing/A Story Tale/The Mode/Images (Disc 2)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:05
Size: 176.5 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[4:21] 1. I Like The Likes Of You
[4:36] 2. Bye, Bye Blues
[6:34] 3. Never, Never Land
[4:19] 4. Ko-Kee
[6:34] 5. Images
[4:51] 6. Blues For Donna
[5:22] 7. Dodge City
[6:16] 8. Moon River
[5:38] 9. Super-20
[8:53] 10. The Mode
[8:33] 11. Blue Sonny
[5:15] 12. The Rythm Thing
[5:46] 13. Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered


Breezing-A Story TaleThe ModeImages(Disc 1)(Disc 2)

---

Stanley Turrentine & Grant Green Quintet - Complete Recordings (Bonus Tracks)

Size: 170,3 MB
Time: 73:35
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: Jazz
Label: Groove Hut Records
Art: Front

CD 1:
01. Z.T.'s Blues ( 6:45)
02. More Than You Know ( 6:10)
03. The Lamp Is Low ( 6:09)
04. The Way You Look Tonight ( 5:46)
05. For Heaven's Sake ( 4:41)
06. I Wish I Knew ( 5:36)
07. Be My Love ( 5:13)
08. But Not For Me (11:28)
09. Stanley's Time (11:04)
10. Broadway (10:38)

CD 2:
01. Yesterdays (11:37)
02. Later At Minton's (13:55)
03. Come Rain Or Come Shine ( 8:34)
04. Love For Sale (15:11)
05. Summertime ( 7:13)
06. Goose Dance (Bonus Track) ( 6:46)
07. Sands (Bonus Track) ( 6:39)
08. Comin' On (Bonus Track) ( 6:44)

Personnel:
Stanley Turrentine, Tenor Sax
Grant Green, Guitar
On All Tracks, Plus:

CD 1 [1-7]: Z.T.'S Blues:

Tommy Flanagan, Piano
Paul Chambers, Bass
Art Taylor, Drums
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, September 13, 1961.

CD 1 [8-10] & CD 2 [1-5]: Up At Minton's

Horace Parlan, Piano
George Tucker, Bass
Al Harewood, Drums

Live At Minton's, New York, February 23, 1961

CD 2 [6-8] Bonus Tracks:

Stanley Turrentine, Tenor Sax
Dizzy Reece, Trumpet
Musa Kaleem, Tenor Sax & Flute
Duke Jordan, Piano
Sam Jones, Bass
Al Harewood, Drums

Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, July 17, 1960.

Stanley Turrentine and Grant Green only recorded together on four occasions, and the dates included here, originally issued on "Z.T.’s Blues", "Up at Minton’s Vol.1", and "Up at Minton’s Vol.2", marked their only preserved collaborations in a quintet format, with Turrentine as the only horn and with Green getting a lot of solo space. This release contains all three albums in their entireties, plus three rare tracks by Turrentine from an obscure session led by trumpeter Dizzy Reece, which are presented here as a bonus.

Complete Recordings CD 1
Complete Recordings CD 2

---