Grant and Wes

[garthsj]

O.K.! O.K!  Now I know that I am going to get flamed here, but I would like to confess that I never really "understood" GG's great popularity. I have most of his BN albums, because I am a Blue Note completist of sorts up to the late 60s, but these are not my favorite guitar albums. I guess I grew up with Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis, Kenny Burrell, Howard Roberts (very underrated), Tal Farlow, Jimmy Raney, Billy Bauer, Johnny Smith, and Jim Hall as my list of favorites in the late 50s and 60s. GG seemed rather tame to me, and not being a devotee of funk or soul, his music, while pleasant rhythmically, was not the kind of thing I would put on the turntable to actually "listen" to for improvisational inspiration. Now he has become a jazz icon ... and I am still forced to wonder why?

Right you are, Jim!!!

Not totally unrelated is my guilty pleasure in watching all the dedicated BN fans on this board who are "suddenly" discovering the equal, if not superior, joys to be discovered on the "weaker" labels, such as Riverside and Prestige represented by the OJC umbrella .... And for someone who went through the hell of fighting the "east coast vs. west coast" battles in the fifties and sixties, it is a major thrill to see people on this board talk so glowingly about albums on Pacific Jazz, Contemporary, and Fantasy .... WOW! I never thought that I would ever live to see the day when a die-hard BN fan, could also find something memorable in Lennie Niehaus, Curtis Counce, or Shelley Manne! No doubt that jazz fans today have much "bigger ears."

[Brad]

See, Garth, no brick a brats were hurled at you. When you say you have this guilty pleasure, this board is actually a lot more balanced than it was the old Blue Note board. Many (present company excluded) were not that kindly toward the OJC recordings and I remember on a Grant thread not one person sticking up for Wes. Yes, this is a different place now.

[037]

BTW, does anyone enjoy the Charlie Christian Columbia box as much as I do? Now there is music to snap you out of a sour mood!

Garth--

You may be interested in visiting the "Solo Flight" website:

Solo Flight

if you haven't done so already.

Glad to see you also mentioned Billy Bauer. His "You Stepped Out of a Dream" is exceptional by any standard. Only heard this aircheck on a bootleg LP (probably put out by Boris Rose) decades ago.

"7"

[garthsj]

Thanks "7" ... That is a really interesting and informative site .. and what a real labor of love...

Garth.

Edited January 6, 2005 by garthsj

[blue-note-ojc]

Watch Wes' video with PC, Wynton Kelly and Jimmy Cobb. His face shines with a smile and so is his playing. Truly, I think he was a natural genius.

Could you tell me the name of the video with Wes, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb? I would sure like to get that.

Tom

[connoisseur series500]

Grant Green will always be a special guitaritst for me. He was one of the first Blue Note musicians that elicited a kind of fanatical response from me. I was listening to a Yusef Latif anthology (on Rhino) and was listening to "Blues for Maude" (I think that was the title.) ...and I said to myself, "who the Hell is that guitarist!? Man, that's some story he's telling on that solo." I was hooked on Green forever thereafter.

The fire has waned somewhat, but his music will always be special for me. He played with some great people and created a large and diverse body of oevres during those active five years with BN.

Wes is great too. He probably was the greater genius. I love them both, of course.

I think that Green accomplished more as far as his recorded career is concerned. Wes was a greater artist, and likely more influential; but his recordings didn't have the scope of Green's.

Wes at his best is impossible to surpass as in his recordings with Jimmy Smith, and "Full House" and "Live at the Half Note" with Wynton Kelly trio. Damn that stuff can't be beat!

I'd rather not have to choose between the two. Love them both!