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
