Grant Green

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This article is about the jazz guitarist and composer. For other people with the same name, see Grant Green (disambiguation).
Grant Green
Background information
Born(1935-06-06)June 6, 1935
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
DiedJanuary 31, 1979(1979-01-31) (aged 43)
New York City, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • songwriter
InstrumentGuitar
Years active1959 – 1978
Labels

Grant Green (June 6, 1935 – January 31, 1979) was an American jazz guitarist and composer.

Recording prolifically for Blue Note Records as both leader and sideman, Green performed in the hard bop, soul jazz, bebop, and Latin-tinged idioms throughout his career. Critic Michael 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."[1] Critic Dave Hunter described his sound as "lithe, loose, slightly bluesy and righteously groovy".[2]

He often performed in an organ trio, a small group featuring a Hammond organ and drummer. Apart from fellow guitarist Charlie Christian, Green's primary influences were saxophonists, particularly Charlie Parker, and his approach was almost exclusively linear rather than chordal. He rarely played rhythm guitar except as a sideman on albums led by other musicians.[3]

The simplicity and immediacy of Green's playing, which tended to avoid chromaticism, derived from his early work playing rhythm 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.

Biography

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Grant Green was born on June 6, 1935, in St. Louis, Missouri, to John and Martha Green. His father was at various times a laborer and a Saint Louis policeman.[4]

Green began studying guitar while he was in primary school.[5] He received early instruction in guitar playing from his father,[6] who played blues and folk music. He studied for a year with Forrest Alcorn, but he was mostly self-taught, learning from listening to records.

He first performed in a professional setting at the age of 13 as a member of a gospel music ensemble.[6][1] Through his 20s, he was a member of jazz and R&B bands.[6] His influences were Charlie Christian, Charlie Parker,[6] Lester Young, and Jimmy Raney. Green's style mimicked that of a saxophonist, playing single note rather than chords.[6]

His first recordings were at the age of 28, in St. Louis with tenor saxophonist Jimmy Forrest[6] for the United label, where Green played alongside drummer Elvin Jones. Green recorded with Jones for several albums in the mid-1960s. In 1959, Lou Donaldson discovered Green[6] playing in a bar in St. Louis and hired him for his touring band. Green moved to New York at some point during 1959–60.

Donaldson introduced Green to Alfred Lion of Blue Note Records. From 1961–1965 he was Blue Note's house guitarist.[6] 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 as First Session.[7][8]

Despite the shelving of his first session, Green's recording relationship with Blue Note was to last, 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 was Grant's First Stand. This was followed in the same year by Green Street and Grantstand. Grant was named Best New Star in the Down Beat Critics' Poll, in 1962. He often provided support to others musicians on Blue Note, including saxophonists Hank Mobley, Ike Quebec, Stanley Turrentine, and organist Larry Young.

Sunday Mornin' , The Latin Bit and Feelin' the Spirit are all concept albums, each taking a musical theme or style: gospel, Latin and spirituals respectively. Grant carried off his more commercial dates with artistic success during this period: Idle Moments (1963), featuring Joe Henderson and Bobby Hutcherson[9] and Solid [10](1964), are described by jazz critics as two of Green's best recordings.

Many of Green's recordings were not released during his lifetime. These include several albums with pianist Sonny Clark recorded in 1961–1962 included in The Complete Grant Green & Sonny Clark[11] released by Mosaic in 1997, and two albums from 1964 (Matador and Solid) that featured McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones from the John Coltrane Quartet.

In 1966 Green left Blue Note[6] and recorded for other labels, including Verve. From 1967 to 1969 he was inactive due to personal problems and the effects of heroin addiction.[6] In 1969 he returned to Blue Note but played mostly in R&B settings.[6] His recordings from this period include the commercially successful Green Is Beautiful and the soundtrack to the film The Final Comedown.

Green spent much of 1978 in the hospital[6] and, against the advice of doctors, went back on the road to earn money. While in New York to play an engagement at George Benson's Breezin' Lounge, he collapsed in his car of a heart attack and died on January 31, 1979. He was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, and was survived by six children, including his son Grant Green Jr., who is also a guitarist.

Equipment

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Green used a Gibson ES-330, then a Gibson L7 with a Gibson McCarty pickguard/pickup, an Epiphone Emperor (with the same pickup) and finally had a custom-built D'Aquisto. According to his protégé and fellow guitarist George Benson, Grant achieved his tone by turning off the bass and treble settings of his amplifier, and maximizing the midrange. This way he could get his signature punchy, biting tone.

Discography

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Main article: Grant Green discography

References

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  1. ^ a b Erlewine, Michael. "Grant Green Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  2. ^ Hunter, Dave (January 25, 2018). "Get that Tone". Archived from the original on January 25, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  3. ^ Andrews Green, Sharony (1999). Grant Green: Rediscovering the Forgotten Genius of Jazz Guitar. Backbeat. p. 224. To hear [Grant] comp behind a soloist you have to check out some of his sideman dates
  4. ^ Green (1999), p. 31.
  5. ^ Feather, Leonard (1999). The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press. p. 272. ISBN 978-0-19-507418-5.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Yanow, Scott (2008). The Jazz Singers. Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-87930-825-4.
  7. ^ Lankford, Ronnie D. "Grant Green - First Session". AllMusic. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  8. ^ Pert, Derek (April 2, 2015). "Grant Green - An Introduction". Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  9. ^ Huey, Steve. "Grant Green - Idle Moments". AllMusic. Retrieved October 2, 2023. This languid, seductive gem may well be Grant Green's greatest moment on record.
  10. ^ Huey, Steve. "Grant Green - Solid". AllMusic. Retrieved October 2, 2023. Solid is one of Green's strongest jazz outings and a unique standout in his catalog.
  11. ^ Records, Mosaic (April 21, 2021). "Grant Green - Mosaic Records". Mosaic Records. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
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