Grant Green – Green Street (1961/2010) [AcousticSounds DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz]

Grant Green – Green Street (1961/2010)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz  | Time – 00:54:24 minutes | 2,14 GB | Genre: Jazz
Official Digital Download – Source: acousticsounds.com | © Blue Note
Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on April 1, 1961.
Mastered: Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman mastering from the original master tapes.

Green Street, recorded on April 1, 1961, was Grant Green’s second Blue Note album as a leader and remains one of the finest albums of his prolific Blue Note output. Supported by just Ben Tucker’s bass and Dave Bailey’s drums, the guitarist seems inspired by the absence of any other chordal instrument. His harmonic and interpretive imagination is in high gear on this unique masterpiece in his discography.

”After you have listened to this LP in its entirety you may look back in surprise, as I did, at the variety of moods and dynamic shadings achieved over such a long course by a group consisting simply of guitar, bass and drums. Charlie Christian was never confronted with this challenge; Barney Kessel is among the few ever to have achieved comparable results with this instrumentation. But the concentration of the spotlight on Grant Green for long stretches, with a background that never interrupts the amazing flow of his ideas, was a concept suited to a major artist, and I don’t expect anyone to contest his right to be considered just that. Though there are many paths for the pursuer of new jazz talent to follow nowadays, it is unlikely that he will find a better-paved or more eventful road to travel than Green Street.” -Leonard Feather

As a trio, this edition of guitarist Grant Green’s many ensembles has to rank with the best he had ever fronted. Recorded on April Fool’s Day of 1961, the band and music are no joke, as bassist Ben Tucker and drummer Dave Bailey understand in the most innate sense how to support Green, lay back when needed, or strut their own stuff when called upon. Still emerging as an individualist, Green takes further steps ahead, without a pianist, saxophonist, or — most importantly — an organist. His willpower drives this music forward in a refined approach that definitely marks him as a distinctive, immediately recognizable player. It is also a session done in a period when Green was reeling in popular demand, as this remarkably is one of six recordings he cut for Blue Note as a leader in 1961, not to mention other projects as a sideman. To say his star was rising would be an understatement. The lean meatiness of this group allows all three musicians to play with little hesitation, no wasted notes, and plenty of soul. Another aspect of this studio date is the stereo separation of Green’s guitar in one speaker, perhaps not prevalent in modern recordings, but very much in use then. Check out the atypical (for Green) ballad “‘Round About Midnight,” as the guitarist trims back embellishments to play this famous melody straight, with a slight vibrato, occasional trills, and a shuffled bridge. The trio cops an attitude similar to Dizzy Gillespie for the introduction to “Alone Together,” with clipped melody notes and a bass filler from Tucker. Three of Green’s originals stamp his personal mark on rising original soulful post-bop sounds, as “No. 1 Green Street” has basic B-flat, easy-grooving tenets similar to his previously recorded tune “Miss Ann’s Tempo.” Two interesting key changes and chord accents identify the outstanding “Grant’s Dimensions” beyond its core bop bridge and jam configuration — not the least of which contains a hefty bass solo from the criminally underrated Tucker and Bailey trading fours. “Green with Envy” should be familiar to fans of Horace Silver, as it is almost identically based on the changes of “Nica’s Dream,” a neat adaptation full of stop-starts and stretched-out improvising over ten minutes. -Michael G. Nastos

Tracklist:
1 No.1 Green Street 7:20
2 ‘Round About Midnight 7:03
3 Grant’s Dimensions 7:57
4 Green with Envy 9:47
5 Alone Together 7:15
6 Green with Envy (Alternate Take) 7:56
7 Alone Together (Alternate Take) 7:06

Personnel:
Dave Bailey, drums
Grant Green, guitar
Ben Tucker, bass

Download:

mqs.linkGrantGreenGreenStreetDSD64.part1.rar
mqs.linkGrantGreenGreenStreetDSD64.part2.rar
mqs.link_GrantGreenGreenStreetDSD64.part3.rar