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Grant Green | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | (1935-06-06)June 6, 1935 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | January 31, 1979(1979-01-31) (aged 43) New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instrument | Guitar |
| Years active | 1959–1978 |
| Labels | |
Grant Green (June 6, 1935 – January 31, 1979) was an Americanjazz guitarist and composer.[1]
Green has been called one of the "mostsampled guitarists."[2]
Grant Green was born on June 6, 1935, inSt. Louis, Missouri,[1] to John and Martha Green. At various times his father was a laborer and a Saint Louis policeman.[3] Grant began studying guitar while he was in primary school.[4] He received early instruction in guitar playing from his father,[5] who played blues and folk music. Grant studied for a year with Forrest Alcorn, but he was mostly self-taught, learning from listening to records.
Grant Green first performed in a professional setting at the age of 13 as a member of agospel music ensemble.[5][6] Through his 20s, he was a member of jazz and R&B bands.[5] His influences wereCharlie Christian,Charlie Parker,[5]Lester Young, andJimmy Raney. Green's style mimicked that of a saxophonist playing single note rather than chords.[5] His first recordings were at the age of 24, in St. Louis with tenor saxophonistJimmy Forrest[5] for the United label, where Green played alongside drummerElvin Jones. Green recorded with Jones for several albums in the mid-1960s. In 1959,Lou Donaldson discovered Green[5] playing at a bar in St. Louis (the Tick Tock or the Pink Elephant) and hired him for his touring band. Green moved toNew York City during 1959–60.
Donaldson introduced Green toAlfred Lion ofBlue Note Records. From 1961–1965 he was Blue Note's house guitarist.[5] Rather than using Green as a sideman, as was the Blue Note practice, Lion arranged for him to record as a group leader. However due to Green's lack of confidence, the initial recording session was only released in 2001 asFirst Session.[7][8]
Despite his first session being shelved, Green's recording relationship with Blue Note lasted, with a few exceptions, throughout the 1960s. From 1961 to 1965, Green made more appearances on Blue Note albums as leader or sideman than anyone else. His first album as a leader wasGrant's First Stand followed in the same year byGreen Street andGrantstand.[1] He was named Best New Star in theDown Beat Critics' Poll, in 1962. He often provided support to others musicians on Blue Note, including saxophonistsHank Mobley,Ike Quebec,Stanley Turrentine, and organistLarry Young.
Sunday Mornin',The Latin Bit andFeelin' the Spirit are allconcept albums, each taking a musical theme or style:gospel,Latin andspirituals respectively. Grant carried off his more commercial dates with artistic success during this period:Idle Moments (1963), featuringJoe Henderson andBobby Hutcherson[9] andSolid (1964),[10] are described by jazz critics[who?] as two of Green's best recordings.
Many of Green's recordings were not released during his lifetime. These include several albums with pianistSonny Clark recorded in 1961–1962 included inThe Complete Grant Green & Sonny Clark[11] released byMosaic in 1997, and two albums from 1964 (Matador andSolid) that featuredMcCoy Tyner andElvin Jones from theJohn Coltrane Quartet. In 1966 Green left Blue Note[5] and recorded for other labels includingVerve. From 1967 to 1969 he was inactive due to personal problems and the effects ofheroin addiction.[5] In 1969 he returned to Blue Note but played mostly in R&B settings.[5] His recordings from that period include the commercially successfulGreen Is Beautiful and the soundtrack to the filmThe Final Comedown.
For most of 1978 Green was in the hospital[5] and against the advice of doctors, went back on the road to earn money. While in New York City to play an engagement atGeorge Benson's Breezin' Lounge, he collapsed in his car after a heart attack and died on January 31, 1979.[1] He was buried inGreenwood Cemetery in his hometown of St. Louis and was survived by six children, including his sonGrant Green Jr., who is also a guitarist. In 2017 the Killer Blues Headstone Project placed a headstone for Grant Green.[12]
Recording prolifically forBlue Note Records as both leader andsideman, Green performed in thehard bop,soul jazz,bebop, andLatin-tinged idioms throughout his career. CriticMichael Erlewine wrote, "A severely underrated player during his lifetime, Grant Green is one of the great unsung heroes of jazz guitar ... Green's playing is immediately recognizable – perhaps more than any other guitarist."[6] Critic Dave Hunter described his sound as "lithe, loose, slightly bluesy and righteously groovy".[13] The simplicity and immediacy of Green's playing, which tended to avoidchromaticism, derived from his early work playingrhythm and blues and, although he achieved a synthesis of this style with bop, he was a skilled blues and funk guitarist and returned to this style in his later career.[citation needed] According to jazz educator Wolf Marshall, "Grant Green's unique mixture of bebop, blues and funk distinguished him as one of the quintessential soul jazz/hard bop guitarists from the get-go."[2]
He often performed in anorgan trio, a small group featuring aHammond organ and drummer. Apart from fellow guitaristCharlie Christian, Green's primary influences were saxophonists, particularlyCharlie Parker, and his approach was almost exclusively linear rather than chordal. He rarely playedrhythm guitar except as a sideman on albums led by other musicians.[14]
Green used aGibson ES-330, then a Gibson L7 with a Gibson McCartypickguard/pickup, anEpiphone Emperor (with the same pickup), and finally had a custom-builtD'Aquisto. According to his protégé and fellow guitarist Benson, Green achieved his tone by turning off the bass and treble settings of his amplifier as well as maximizing the midrange. That way he could get his signature punchy, biting tone.[citation needed]
Green's current reputation [is being] one of the "most sampled guitarists."
This languid, seductive gem may well be Grant Green's greatest moment on record.
Solid is one of Green's strongest jazz outings and a unique standout in his catalog.
To hear [Grant] comp behind a soloist you have to check out some of his sideman dates
