Years ago my brother David tried to turn me on to Grant Green, the jazz guitarist who died in 1979 at the tender age of 44. (Against his doctors' advice, he was touring because he needed the cash, and the strain apparently caused a heart attack. How many jazz greats have we lost because they didn't have the means to take care of themselves when their health was failing? It's criminal.)
I loved many of Green's fellow Blue Note and Verve players--Sonny Clark, Hank Mobley, Lou Donaldson--but I just couldn't get into Green...until lately. For some reason, in my dotage I finally get Green and his sinuous grooves. Recommended: Street of Dreams, Alive! and Talkin' About!
Thanks, David. It took me a while, but I finally saw the light.
tags: grant+green sonny+clark hank+mobley lou+donaldson blue+note verve
Dotage? Watch yourself! You're impugning me, as well. After all, aren't you a tad younger than me? Or near abouts.
Posted by: Matt Florence | Jun 14, 2006 at 10:41 AM
Heh. I just find the aging process easier if I think of myself as a little older than I really am. Then I can say, "Hey, I'm not doing so bad for [fill-in-the-blank]!" ;-)
Although as a jazz fan, I really do feel old some days. So many of my favorite artists are long gone, and although there's plenty of great music still being made, it's a little sad to see jazz thought of as music from another era.
Posted by: Ed Batista | Jun 14, 2006 at 10:55 AM