At his peak in the early 1960s, Grant Green was among the most soulful, swinging jazz guitarists recording. Unfortunately, many of his albums weren't released by Blue Note until after his death in 1979. The business reasoning remains a mystery, but the decision by the label clearly had nothing to do with his playing. Green appeared on many albums as a sideman, and I suppose the label didn't want to flood the market with Green releases. In addition, jazz tastes were shifting to soul-jazz and boogaloo. Though Green was paid for his efforts, holding back his albums certainly limited his visibility. [Photo above of Grant Green by Francis Wolff (c) Mosaic Images]
If you're unfamiliar with Green, start with the two-CD set called The Complete Quartets With Sonny Clark, a 1997 compilation album (here). Green and Clark together were unbeatable. So you have a sense of the Green-Clark genius, here's Gooden's Corner...
Yesterday, jazz author Carl Woideck sent along a link to a Grant Green documentary. Instead of focusing on the music, the film is more about the bluesy search by son Greg Green for his father's past through interviews with those who remembered him. The 2017 film runs just over and hour and was directed by Charles F. Cirgenski and Sharony Green, the former wife of Greg Green, a musician who now goes by Grant Green Jr.
And here's Part 3...
