Backbeat Grant Green: Rediscovering the Forgotten Genius of Jazz Guitar

Grant Green: Rediscovering the Forgotten Genius of Jazz Guitar

During his 1960s prime, jazz guitarist Grant Green was overshadowed by rivals Wes Montgomery and George Benson, two immensely talented players who made successful forays into the pop world. But although Green passed away in 1979, the 1990s have seen a Grant Green renaissance, thanks to the birth of acid jazz, the reemergence of soul jazz, the jazz-reissue boom, and, most importantly, Green's distinctive guitar style--steeped in his R&B roots and boasting a clear, biting, soulful tone that makes him attractive to rock fans. When she met and later married Grant's youngest son, journalist Sharony Andrews Green stumbled into an admirable mission: to shed light on the life and music of her cult-favorite father-in-law. Green-the-author delivers an engaging, casual remembrance that adeptly balances many aspects of Green's life while never delving deeply into any of them. Green-the-guitaris t lived in service to an uneasy triumvirate-- music, Islam, and heroin--and the author, despite her ties to her subject, pulls no punches in detailing his drug habit and dark side. The book relies on heartfelt anecdotes from friends, family, musicians, and historians to tell his story and provide a clear and compelling picture of the mindset of a black jazz musician. We learn, for example, how many St. Louis jazzmen began to use heroin in admiration of Midwestern idols (and users) such as Charlie Parker and Miles Davis, and how Green himself yearned for a wider audience in the late 1960s and changed musical directions in search of it (only to be even more frustrated when it did not come). The easy-going, conversational writing style mostly makes for a warm, emotional memoir, though it loses sophistication when the focus moves toward the author and her biography process. Still, adding a comprehensive sessionography, Green offers a useful primer for a talented musician, opening the door for more thorough investigations of Grant Green's unique guitar technique and stylistic innovations. --Marc Greilsamer