js Green is Beautiful” is a transitional album for Grant Green as it finds him moving more from the hard bop of his early career and more towards a funk/RnB sound. Like a lot of soul jazz LPs form this era. ‘Beautiful’ is kind of hit and miss with about one half good RnB jazz grooves, and about one half pop ditties that are forgettable. Side one opens with a cover of James Brown’s “Aint it Funky Now”, and it’s a solid cooker with great solos from the whole crew, including saxophonist Claude Bartee, who might remind some of Eddie Harris. This side closes out with the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life”. This song was popular with soul jazz musicians, but it never works well. Although it’s a good song in its original format, the different changes in the arrangement don’t lend itself very well to jazz or RnB solos.

Side two opens with another JB’s style groove, “The Windjammer”, which is followed by a very lackluster “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again”. I’m not sure whose idea it was to include this very cheesy pop song, but it sticks out like the sorest of thumbs. It’s a bad song to begin with and there is no way to save it, or make it better. The album closes with the best track, “Dracula”, another funk number and one of the few tracks with a very strong melody. If you keep the three best tracks on “Green is Beautiful”, you have a decent funk jazz album, albeit one that mostly sounds like a jam session. It doesn’t hurt that Green in his crew know how to turn in hot solos over an infectious groove.

dreadpirateroberts Much has been said about the original intended length of the title track, so I’ll just repeat it once – what a fantastic mistake! ‘Idle Moments’ as a fourteen minute bluesy exploration is cool – even silky – giving everyone a chance to stretch out and solo on a piece that I find myself chucking on repeat more often than not. Not to say that up-tempo numbers like ‘Jean De Fleur’ (or the rest of the album) aren’t enjoyable, but the opening cut sets a high bar.

The bluesy swing of the title track is returned to on ‘Django’ and ‘Nomad’ is another harder piece where Henderson plays a little rougher, taking the spotlight. Hutcherson is a distinctive voice on all pieces, and of course Green leads everything with his lovely tone but like many of the greatest jazz albums, there seems to be no lone virtuoso. As a listener, the pieces feel as though everyone gets a say, that everyone is working together so damn well.

Perhaps Grant Green’s defining album, and a rewarding listen for fans of cool and hard bop.

Warthur Opening with the superb, laid back, bluesy epic which is the title track, Idle Moments is a great hard bop album which takes in moods from the sedate (as on the title track) to the energetic (as on the album closer Nomad). But it's the opener which listeners will keep coming back to, with excellent solos from Grant Green himself, Joe Henderson and Bobby Hutcherson being particularly standout moments. According to jazz legend, it's twice as long as intended because they accidentally played the baseline melody twice, but I think it needed to be that long to really get deep into the mellow mood the band try to evoke with it. Superb stuff.

Matt Shelved by Alfred Lion the producer at Blue Note records when this session was recorded in May 1965 but not actually released until 1979 in Japan and internationally in 1990. "Matador" is the name given to the album and Grant Green was in red hot form at this time in his career with his previous session being "Idle Moments" and the next "Solid". He was doing a plethora of material at Blue Note and not all could be released as not to flood the market. Alfred Lion one of the main partners at Blue Note produced nearly all the sessions for the label till 1967 and with Francis Wolff decicided what to release and one does wonder why this session was never placed on the market much earlier. One of the reasons may have been the inclusion of "My Favourite Things" in the session to which many of us would say that this is the pick of the album but repititon was not one thing that Alfred would have liked in his Jazz and one has to admit that there are points within the solo from Grant on guitar that does head that way at times. Still wonderful album with excellent picking from Grant Green but what about the band having McCoy Tyner on piano and Elvin Jones on drums who one could say are experts at "My Favourite Things" having been on the classic recording of the tune with John Coltrane and recently just recorded "Crescent" and "A Love Supreme" with him as well. You would be going to find any better musicians and also while talking about those better musicians Bob Cranshaw is on bass for just another session at Blue Note and Bob has pretty much played with Sonny Rollins for the last 50 years.

The title "Matador" is first with Grant on guitar soloing in that order also with his usual beautiful sharp presicion with McCoy Tyner following with that delightful touch he has on piano over the repeated rythmn structure in this lovely quick driver of a number. "My Favorite Things" is next and like the previous "Matador" is over ten minutes in length providing plenty of room for the musicians to stretch out with their solos and Grant Green takes the lion's share in both. Like any great McCoy Tyner does not play this tune the same as he did with John Coltrane previously and he is playing a bit more fill with his piano interruptation. Grant Green's solo is the let down. Why in two sections repeat the same chord 20 times in a row and then put as through it again a minute later? One could not be blamed for thinking the record is scratched or your cd is faulty. McCoy is great to follow but for me it spoiled what could have been something close to that other Coltrane version. As the first tune was, "Blue Jeans" as another Grant Green composition within the album with quite a nice jaunt put within the composition's structure having a great little call and response intro between Grant and McCoy and Grant takes the first solo with a much better approach but at times he still has that repitition thing happening again. McCoy is wonderful to follow with his piano input and often I have heard his tone described as joyous which is perhaps the best description for the touch that he has on the piano keys whilst playing. The rythmn section of Bob Cranshaw and Elvin Jones are simply superb throughout with neither putting a foot wrong with Elvin showing his stuff on drums in the next , "Bedouin" being techinically the last track on the album with him placing a lovely subdued one near the end of the composition. Grant plays the most interesting solo from him on the album within this track with McCoy of course doing it superbly again as well. "Wives and Lovers" is the bonus track with Grant sounding like his guitar is getting plenty of pluck on this jaunty version.

I found when I first heard the album years back now I absolutely loved it but over time that repitition from Grant Green in "My Favorite Things and Green Jeans" is a bit much for this old free flowing Jazz Head. Alfred Lion never inteferred with the music and let the musicians have their run with results that are legendary in Jazz today and this is one album if not for that point that I have previously made and still one you will want if you are a Grant fan like myself.

Abraxas Blue Note-addict, Grant Green, released dozens of albums throughout the 60s showing clearly his evolution and diversity in different contexts, having played with lots of renowned musicians. In Street of Dreams we got the trio that played in Talkin’ About which is Larry Young on organ, Elvin Jones on drums and Green on guitar, plus the addition of vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson on this session.

The unision of B3 Hammond Organ and jazz guitar is not something new at all, but Grant Green probably made my favourite album featuring this unision, which is this. But that's only telling half of the story, since actually I love this album also because of the combination of vibraphone and organ, the former playing the upper keys while the organ does the lower register, as a whole creating a fantastic sound which isn’t common in jazz (or elsewhere).

Street of Dreams is in its essence a dreamy and night-mood album, as the title suggests. And that's actually surprising since Larry is not actually known for being a calm organist, neither is Jones' drum-kit accustomed to playing gently nor much of Bobby's vibes.

What is also surprising is that all four compositions are covers, mainly popular early 50s songs (sang). But Green & Co. really make these compositions their own, as great jazz musicians are known of doing. It's in the case of 'Lazy Afternoon' that the band even turns the original 4/4 into a 5/4 tune! But mind you, it's a slow-paced 5/4 unlike 'Take Five'. Yes, the four compositions are mainly slow-driven tunes with no real need of power; it's the whole subtlety and dreaminess that makes this album so enjoyable, and of course the exquisite solos of each of the members.

Although many will object of considering this a great Green record, since the guitarist's classic features are not present, I still think this is an excellent album, and like I said at the beginning, one of the best in combining guitar and organ, even though those particular instruments don’t actually show-off, they’re simply joined as one within the whole flow of the album.