Racing Green: Guitar Solos 1959/62 (2CD)

Mercurial St Louis born guitarist Grant Green was influential and widely admired by his contemporaries. Such players as Wes Montgomery, Carlos Santana and George Benson attested to his genius; enthusing about his sinuous, melodic, labyrinthine style, firmly rooted in the blues, and a signature tone that Green achieved by turning off the bass and treble settings of his amplifier, and maximizing the midrange. His first recordings were a 1959 Delmark album with Jimmy Forrest and Elvin Jones and a 1960 recording on Argo with organist Sam Lazar. He was 24 in 1959, when saxophonist Lou Donaldson first heard him play in St. Louis. the following year, Donaldson took Green to New York City to audition for Blue Note Records, the premier jazz label of the era. He was hired immediately as the staff guitarist. Green's first recording for Blue Note was Lou Donaldson's Here 'Tis in January of 1961. Five days later he was recording his first album as leader. During 1961 Green recorded eight sessions for 17 Blue Note albums, as a sideman or leader, including his first live recording, with saxophonist Stanley Turrentine. the following year he recorded a Latin album, a gospel album, and a jazz rendering of country & western music. at the dawn of a new decade, Green's unexpected talent was a breath of fresh air and earned him an award for best new star in Down Beat magazine's annual critic's poll for 1962. Racing Green showcases Grant Green's output from these halcyon days, combining a selection of recordings as leader with those where he appeared as a featured session guitarist.