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Grant Green; Kenny Burrell: Laid-Back Jazz Guitar: Kenny Burrell and Grant Green
When I'm in the mood for jazz guitar, I have two go-to albums: 
Kenny Burrell
guitar, electricb.1931
Grant Green
guitar1935 - 1979
It always surprises me. Growing up in the 1960s and '70s, I was a big fan of hard and fast rock guitars. Who wasn't? Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Pete Townsend. The Clash. The Pretenders. Joan Jett. Prince. Chuck Berry and George Harrison. It's got a backbeat you can't lose it.
So when I slowly gravitated to jazz, I naturally sought out the "rockers."
Dizzy Gillespie
trumpet1917 - 1993
Charlie Parker
saxophone, alto1920 - 1955
John Coltrane
saxophone1926 - 1967
Thelonious Monk
piano1917 - 1982
Buddy Rich
drums1917 - 1987
Benny Goodman
clarinet1909 - 1986
Duke Ellington
piano1899 - 1974
Louis Armstrong
trumpet and vocals1901 - 1971
When did that change?
A friend introduced me to
Joe Pass
guitar1929 - 1994
One thing led to another.
Django Reinhardt
guitar1910 - 1953
Wes Montgomery
guitar1923 - 1968
Stanley Jordan
guitar, electricb.1959
John McLaughlin
guitarb.1942
And finally: Kenny Burrell and Grant Green.
Is there a recording as blue, as gentle, as soulful and as emotional as Green's "Idle Moments"? For 15 minutes, the album's opening track of the same name takes you to a different place. It's draggy and slow, and that's the whole point. No bebop here. Instead, Green plays big, fat, gorgeous single notes. Pianist
Duke Pearson
piano1932 - 1980
Joe Henderson
saxophone1937 - 2001
Then there's Burrell's Midnight Blue—the entire album, every single song. No pyrotechnics here. From the opening "Chitlins Con Carne," Burrell announces: Love the blues or leave. It starts with a mid-tempo Latin groove, backed by the ever-cool congas of Ray Baretto. Then Burrell enters with a heart full of pure soul—single-note lines of crystal clear blues. And when that's over, here comes "Mule," which starts as a simple, sad, slow duet between Burrell's guitar and Major Holley Jr.'s bass. (Holley wrote the tune.) An almost imperceptible cymbal insinuates itself into the tune, then a drum roll, then a walking bass of big, fat half-notes over tasteful soul.
The whole record is like that. "Soul Lament" is 2? minutes of absolutely unaccompanied solo guitar. Gentle, sometimes sweet, sometimes menacing in the lower registers. "Midnight Blue," the title cut, is a jaunty toe-tapper. "Wavy Gravy" is, as you might guess from the title, a groovy piece with a driving bass line and a big heavy wrapper of soul. Burrell takes the star turn in each piece. It's his record all the way.
My only regret—and it's a small one—is with the two bonus CD tracks on Midnight Blue. Each is a nice little hard bop gem, but they don't really fit the album's mood. They are exquisite examples of the typical Blue Note bop sound, but Burrell (or
Alfred Lion
producer1908 - 1987
Rudy Van Gelder
various1924 - 2016
So there you go: Two perfect guitarists on two nearly perfect records. I still love me some Jimi or Led Zep. But when the mood strikes, nothing quite captivates me like Idle Moments and Midnight Blue—a pair of deeply soulful, heartful records.
Tags
Grant Green; Kenny Burrell
My Blue Note Obsession
Kenny Burrell
Marc Davis
Grant Green
Dizzy Gillespie
Charlie Parker
John Coltrane
Thelonious Monk
Buddy Rich
Benny Goodman
duke ellington
Louis Armstrong
Joe Pass
Django Reinhardt
Wes Montgomery
Stanley Jordan
john mclaughlin
Duke Pearson
Joe Henderson
Alfred Lion
rudy van gelder
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