Grant Green: Organ Trio & Quartet

[Hardbopjazz]

Can anyone tell me more about this recording? Is it a compilation CD or something else? It has recording date of June 1, 1960. I've never heard of this one before.

Edited March 12, 2011 by Hardbopjazz

[J.A.W.]

A search produced this. Looks like a boot.

[edit] The label, Groove Hut Records, is one of those labels from Andorra/Spain.

[Hardbopjazz]

Thanks. I just found that myself. Nothing new. Odd that at the site I came across this had a recording date of June 1, 1960. I got excited. Even Allmusic.com has that date as the recording date.

Edited March 12, 2011 by Hardbopjazz

[Dan Gould]

I don't think this is properly described as a "compilation" which implies a variety of tunes from a variety of recordings. In fact its a two-fer, combining Green's second recording, Space Flight (Argo) which was led by organist Sam Lazar, and Iron City (Cobblestone).

This is the kind of release that makes it harder to reject out of hand these Andorran labels, as the Argo recording isn't easy to come by and I don't know of any CD reissue of any kind. I'm just glad I have a CDR transfer from a friend, otherwise I am sure I would have snapped this one up long ago in order to hear that Argo LP.

Edit to add that if anything is "dodgy" its the AMG review which claims that these recordings come from the latter part of his career. Space Flight is one of his earliest recordings and is closest to his strong roots in blues/R&B.

[J.A.W.]

I don't think this is properly described as a "compilation" which implies a variety of tunes from a variety of recordings. In fact its a two-fer, combining Green's second recording, Space Flight (Argo) which was led by organist Sam Lazar, and Iron City (Cobblestone).

This is the kind of release that makes it harder to reject out of hand these Andorran labels, as the Argo recording isn't easy to come by and I don't know of any CD reissue of any kind. I'm just glad I have a CDR transfer from a friend, otherwise I am sure I would have snapped this one up long ago in order to hear that Argo LP.

Edit to add that if anything is "dodgy" its the AMG review which claims that these recordings come from the latter part of his career. Space Flight is one of his earliest recordings and is closest to his strong roots in blues/R&B.

These are 1960 and 1967 recordings; the latter aren't in the public domain yet in the European Union, so this Groove Hut Records release is not legit. In the United States it's not legit anyway.

[Dan Gould]

I didn't say its legit, Hans. I said that contrary to the AMG review, its not a comp, its a two-fer and its not made up of "late career" recordings but one early recording that is hard to come by, and one late-career recording and that reissuing the early recording makes it tougher to cast aside the Andorran companies completely, when they make available recordings like Space Flight that aren't well known and/or never saw legitimate reissue.

[J.A.W.]

I didn't say its legit, Hans.

I know you didn't and I didn't say you did It was just an observation on my part.

[Dan Gould]

OK, but if someone uses the quote function its fair to assume that the comment is some sort of response to what is being quoted. A stand-alone statement about legitimacy or lack thereof wouldn't have felt like a comment on my post.

[J.A.W.]

OK, but if someone uses the quote function its fair to assume that the comment is some sort of response to what is being quoted. A stand-alone statement about legitimacy or lack thereof wouldn't have felt like a comment on my post.

I was referring to the recordings mentioned in your post, that's why I quoted it, not to comment on what you posted. That's all.

[JSngry]

How legit was Iron City in the first place?

....

hmmmmmmmmmmmm.......

[.:.impossible]

I'm not convinced that Grant Green is, in fact, even ON Iron City!

[mikeweil]

Legal issues aside - how is that Sam Lazar ARGO LP?

[Dan Gould]

Not as much room for Grant as you'd wish but a lot of hard-driving organ in a mostly blues/R&B bag. I like it.

[JSngry]

I'm not convinced that Grant Green is, in fact, even ON Iron City!

I'm not convinced that it was ever actually recorded. I think it just showed up in the record stores one day, kinda like the Easter Bunny on a jazz run.

[.:.impossible]

I'm not even convinced that it showed up in record stores because I don't even remember buying it, but here it is on my shelf. They should re-title it "Immaculate Conception". Either that, or I have experienced immaculate consumption.

Seems like I'm really trying to dive-bomb this thread. I'm not. Please, carry on.

[JSngry]

You can't dive-bomb some that's never really been there. So by all means, do carry on.

Or even better, carry out. It's all the rage these days, I hear.

[Niko]

Edit to add that if anything is "dodgy" its the AMG review which claims that these recordings come from the latter part of his career. Space Flight is one of his earliest recordings and is closest to his strong roots in blues/R&B.

that must be one of the worst amg reviews i've ever seen ("veterans and longtime fans have everything here assembled better in other places..." also does not seem like a valid description of the Sam Lazar LP...)

[Dan Gould]

Its almost as if he reviewed some imaginary release instead of the one at hand.

Not that I mind people dive-bombing or even crapping on threads but does anyone else have the Lazar LP or this release willing to comment on the rare half of this reissue?

[.:.impossible]

Dan, I would never crap on a thread. Ever.

I don't have the Lazar LP.

[jazzbo]

The Lazar lp was released on cd in Japan.

[JSngry]

I have a copy of it & find it most enjoyable. I even saw a copy of it in the late 70s in a dusty (weren't they all?) mom & pop shop but did not have the good sense to buy it on the spot.

[robertoart]

Over at the Hoffman Forums, a poster found this information regarding an Amazon review that solves one part of the mystery of the Iron City session.

The Real Story, November 1, 2010

By Travis Klein (Pittsburgh, PA, USA) - See all my reviews

(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Iron City (Audio CD)

The real story of Grant Green's Iron City album is that in 1965 ( I think) he was playing at a club in Pittsburgh called the Hurricane Lounge which was well known as a home for organ trios. A mutual friend came to me and said that Grant needed money to cop and he would be willing to record an album in exchange for the money. I immediately called Gateway Studios in downtown Pittsburgh and scheduled time. When I showed up they were just about done and didn't have a title for the one original. Since we were in Pittsburgh I called it "Iron City." We were the distributors for Prestige Records in Pittsburgh so I called Joe Fields, who was Prestige's sales manager, and offered to sell him the master. Two years later Joe went to work for Buddah Records and they had a new jazz label which they called Cobblestone. Iron City came out as Cobblestone 9002 originally. This album was recorded between his Blue Note early releases and His Majesty King Funk on Verve and I personally never thought it measured up. But 45 years later it holds up pretty darn well.

I also found this snipet from the Gene Ludwig site to further confirm.

One night during a gig at the Hurricane Ludwig was approached by Travis Klein. Klein was a young entrepreneur who ran a local one-stop with his father. Their distributor branched out into a label, Travis Records. They recorded musicians who traveled through Pittsburgh and released singles by Johnny Lytle and Eddie Chamblee. Ludwig recalls the likes of Grant Green, and Larry Young recording for them as well. “Travis came to see us play and he said ‘Me and my dad have a one-stop right up the street.’ He said ‘If you aren’t signed with anybody we might be able to record and release some stuff.’ So we went up there and struck a deal.”

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

never heard that new info, very good find

[bertrand]

Ludwig recalls the likes of Grant Green, and Larry Young recording for them as well.

This statement does not explicitely claim that Larry Young is the organist on Iron City and almost seems to imply that there was a separate Young recording, but since no such recording has ever surfaced to my knowledge, I assume that Ludwig meant that Green and Young were on the same record date.

I need to wander over to Amazon to see what else Mr. Klein has to say about this session.

Bertrand.

Edited March 7, 2012 by bertrand

[robertoart]

never heard that new info, very good find

Yeh, isn't it great to read that. Finally get a context for the recording.

Thanks to the Hoffman forum poster!

Sad that the album appears (from the Amazon poster) to exist because of Grant's addiction.

Although perhaps Grant knew someone was financing sessions there, and exercised his choice to earn a paycheck.

Edited March 7, 2012 by freelancer