Recording prolifically and almost exclusively for Blue Note Records (as both leader and sideman) Green performed well in hard bop, soul jazz, bebop and Latin-tinged settings throughout his career. Critics Michael Erlewine and Ron Wynn write, "A severely underrated player during his lifetime, Grant Green is one of the great unsung heroes of jazz guitar ... Green's playing is immediately recognizable -- perhaps more than any other guitarist." Critic Dave Hunter described his sound as "lithe, loose, slightly bluesy and righteously groovy". He often performed in an organ trio, a small group with an organ and drummer.
Apart from Charlie Christian, Green's primary influences were saxophonists, particularly Charlie Parker, and his approach was therefore almost exclusively linear rather than chordal. The simplicity and immediacy of Green's playing, which tended to avoid chromaticism, derived from his early work playing rhythm and blues and, although at his best he achieved a synthesis of this style with bop, he was essentially a blues guitarist and returned almost exclusively to this style in his later career. Green used a Gibson ES-330, then a Gibson L7 with a Gibson McCarty pickguard/pick-up, an Epiphone Emperor (with the same pick-up) and finally had a custom built D'Aquisto. George Benson said he would turn all the bass and treble off the amp, and max the midrange. This way he could get his signature punchy, biting tone.
Green was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He first performed in a professional setting at the age of 12. His influences were Charlie Christian, Charlie Parker, Ike Quebec, Lester Young, Jimmy Raney, Jimmy Smith and Miles Davis, he first played boogie-woogie before moving on to jazz. His first recordings in St. Louis were with tenor saxophonist Jimmy Forrest for the Delmark label. The drummer in the band was Elvin Jones, later the powerhouse behind John Coltrane. Grant recorded with Elvin again in the early Sixties. Lou Donaldson discovered Grant playing in a bar in St. Louis. After touring together with Donaldson, Grant arrived in New York around 1959-60.
Lou Donaldson introduced Grant to Alfred Lion of Blue Note Records. Lion was so impressed with Grant that, rather than testing Grant as a sideman, as was the usual Blue Note practice, Lion arranged for him to record as a bandleader first. Green's initial recording session went unreleased until 2001, however, owing to a lack of confidence on Green's behalf.
Despite the shelving of his first session, Green's recording relationship with Lion and Blue Note was to last, with a few exceptions, throughout the Sixties. From 1961 to 1965, Grant made more appearances on Blue Note LPs, as leader or sideman, than anyone else. Grant's first issued album as a leader was Grant's First Stand. This was followed in the same year by Green Street and Grantstand. Grant was named best new star in the Down Beat critics' poll, 1962, and, as a result, his influence spread wider than New York. He often provided support to the other important musicians on Blue Note, including saxophonists Hank Mobley, Ike Quebec, Stanley Turrentine and Harold Vick, as well as organist Larry Young.
Sunday Mornin' , The Latin Bit and Feelin' the Spirit are all loose concept albums, each taking a musical theme or style: Gospel, Latin and spirituals respectively. Grant always carried off his more commercial dates with artistic success during this period. Idle Moments (1963), featuring Joe Henderson and Bobby Hutcherson, and Solid (1964), featuring the Coltrane rhythm section, are acclaimed as two of Grant's best recordings.
Many of Grant's recordings were not released during his lifetime. These include Matador, in which Grant is once again in the heavyweight company of the Coltrane rhythm section, and a series of sessions with pianist Sonny Clark. In 1966 Grant left Blue Note and recorded for several other labels, including Verve. From 1967 to 1969 Grant was, for the most part, inactive due to personal problems and the effects of heroin addiction. In 1969 Grant returned with a new funk-influenced band. His recordings from this period include the commercially successful Green is Beautiful and the soundtrack to the film The Final Comedown. Grant was also a huge influence on guitarists, from George Benson to Stevie Ray Vaughan. Still to this day guitarists try to get his signature sound, Idle Moments is considered one of the top 100 jazz albums of all time.
Grant left Blue Note again in 1974 and the subsequent recordings he made with other labels divide opinion: some consider Green to have been the 'Father of Acid Jazz' (and his late recordings have been sampled by artists including US3, A Tribe Called Quest and Public Enemy), whilst others have dismissed them (Michael Cuscuna wrote in the sleeve notes for the album Matador that "During the 1970s he made some pretty lame records").
Grant spent much of 1978 in hospital and, against the advice of doctors, went back on the road to earn some money. While in New York to play an engagement at George Benson's Breezin' Lounge, Grant collapsed in his car of a heart attack in New York City on January 31, 1979. He was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, and was survived by six children. Since Green's demise, his reputation has grown to legendary status and many compilations of both his earlier (post-bop/straight ahead and soul jazz) and later (funkier/dancefloor jazz) periods, exist.
Song Is You
Grant Green Lyrics
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A beautiful theme of every
Dream I ever knew.
Down deep in my heart I hear it play.
I feel it start, then melt away.
I hear music when I touch your hand,
A beautiful melody
Down deep in my heart, I hear it say,
Is this the day?
I alone have heard this lovely strain,
I alone have heard this glad refrain,
Must it be forever inside of me,
Why can't I let it go,
Why can't I let you know,
Why can't I let you know the song
My heart would sing?
That beautiful rhapsody
Of love and youth and spring,
The music is sweet,
The words are true
The song is you.
The song "The Song Is You" by Grant Green is an incredible piece of music that speaks about the overwhelming emotions one feels when in love. The opening verse talks about how the singer hears music every time they look at their partner. The music represents the dreams that they have ever known, and as the song progresses, it becomes apparent that these dreams are about the love that the singer has for their partner. The music is down deep in their heart and continuously plays, even melting away as the emotions are overwhelming.
In the second verse, the singer talks about how they can hear music when they touch the hand of their lover, and it's a beautiful melody from some enchanted land. It's an emotional and overwhelming experience for the singer, and the music is deep in their heart. The lyrics of the song reveal the depth of the emotions the singer feels, and it is evident in the second verse that they wish to share it with their lover.
The chorus talks about how the song is the singer's alone, and they have heard it countless times. It's a beautiful strain of music that represents love and youth and spring. The song is incredibly sweet and truthful, and the lyrics speak volumes about the depth of the singer's feelings. The music is sweet, and the words are true, and the song is all about their lover.
Line by Line Meaning
I hear music when I look at you,
Whenever I lay my eyes upon you, I'm filled with the sweet sound of music that embodies each and every dream I've ever conceived.
A beautiful theme of every
Dream I ever knew.
This music represents the very essence of all the dreams that I have held, and it's a beautiful theme that underscores those dreams.
Down deep in my heart I hear it play.
This music is so deeply ingrained in my soul that I can hear it playing all the time within my heart.
I feel it start, then melt away.
At times this music starts suddenly, and then just as quickly, it fades away into nothingness.
I hear music when I touch your hand,
Whenever I reach out and touch your hand, a magnificent melody reverberates through my being as though it came from some enchanted land.
A beautiful melody
From some enchanted land.
The tune that I hear is so lovely and stylish, it seems like it could only come from a magical, mystical place in the universe.
Down deep in my heart, I hear it say,
Is this the day?
When I hear this music emanating from my soul, I feel compelled to ask myself if this day will be the one where my love is realized.
I alone have heard this lovely strain,
I seem to be the only one who can hear this wonderful music, which fills me with a sense of uniqueness and wonder.
I alone have heard this glad refrain,
This song is entirely unique to me, and no one else has ever experienced the wave of joy it creates within my heart.
Must it be forever inside of me,
I find myself questioning why this melody must remain trapped within me and cannot be released into the world to be shared by others.
Why can't I let it go,
Why can't I let you know,
I wonder why I cannot release this melody into the universe or let you in on my secret, keeping it locked inside instead of sharing it freely.
Why can't I let you know the song
My heart would sing?
I question why I feel compelled to hold back from letting you know about the dazzling tune that would represent the very music that my heart would sing.
That beautiful rhapsody
Of love and youth and spring,
The tune that plays inside my head represents the marvelous rhapsody of young love at the height of springtime.
The music is sweet,
The words are true
The song is you.
This song is a lovely ballad that tells the story of you, blending sweetness with truth, and ultimately becoming something magnificent that cannot be defined by mere words.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JEROME KERN, OSCAR II HAMMERSTEIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind