Search - Grant Green :: First Session

Grant Green's discography has grown immensely since his death in 1979, with recent additions such as The Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark, Standards, and Blues for Lou providing more of the guitarist's early '60s Blue Note recordings. He's emerged anew as one of the greatest jazz guitarists, a lyrical player whose hornlike lines could convey rare depths on bop, blues, and modal tunes. This CD goes deeper into the Blue Note vaults to present Green's first session as a leader. It's a quartet date from November 1960, recorded two months before Grant's First Stand, his first session to be released, and it places Green in the stellar company of pianist Wynton Kelly and bassist Paul Chambers, then members of Miles Davis's band, and drummer Philly Joe Jones, another Davis veteran. That it's taken over 40 years to surface might take listeners aback. Blue Note head Alfred Lion apparently thought the session below par, and that stellar rhythm section may have made Green slightly nervous. There are definitely a few ragged edges, with Green sometimes hesitant or slipping into licks that come too readily to hand, but his strengths are also apparent. His singing tone and soulful inflections are well in place, and there's already crystalline clarity and supple swing in his lines. The support is superb, however intimidating. There's a feeling of real rapport on the long slow blues of "Seepin'" and the contrasting grooves of the R&B-sourced "He's a Real Gone Guy" and the medium swing tempos of "Just Friends" and "Grant's First Stand." Often the tunes sound like they're one take from being masterful. The CD is rounded out with two previously unreleased versions of Dizzy Gillespie's "Woody 'n' You" recorded a year later with pianist Sonny Clark, bassist Butch Warren, and drummer Billy Higgins. First Session is an intriguing addition to Green's body of work, complementing his masterpieces such as Idle Moments and Feelin' the Spirit. --Stuart Broomer