Grant Green (June 6, 1935 – January 31, 1979) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. He has been called one of the "most sampled guitarists."

Biography

Grant Green was born on June 6, 1935, in St. Louis, Missouri, to John and Martha Green. His father worked as a laborer and a police officer in St. Louis. Grant began learning to play the guitar while he was in primary school. His father taught him how to play blues and folk music. Grant studied guitar for one year with a teacher named Forrest Alcorn, but he mostly taught himself by listening to music records.

Grant first performed professionally at the age of 13 as part of a gospel music group. Throughout his 20s, he played in jazz and rhythm and blues (R&B) bands. His musical influences included Charlie Christian, Charlie Parker, Lester Young, and Jimmy Raney. Green’s playing style was similar to a saxophonist who played single notes instead of chords. His first recordings were made when he was 24 in St. Louis with saxophonist Jimmy Forrest for the United label. Green played alongside drummer Elvin Jones during these sessions. He recorded with Jones on several albums in the mid-1960s. In 1959, saxophonist Lou Donaldson discovered Green playing at a bar in St. Louis and hired him to join his touring band. Green moved to New York City between 1959 and 1960.

Donaldson introduced Green to Alfred Lion of Blue Note Records. From 1961 to 1965, Green was Blue Note’s main guitarist. Instead of working as a supporting musician, as was common at Blue Note, Lion allowed Green to lead recording sessions. However, Green’s lack of confidence caused the first session to be released only in 2001 as First Session.

Despite the initial session being delayed, Green continued recording for Blue Note throughout the 1960s, except for a few years. From 1961 to 1965, Green appeared more often on Blue Note albums as a leader or supporting musician than anyone else. His first album as a leader was Grant’s First Stand, followed by Green Street and Grantstand in the same year. In 1962, Green was named Best New Star in the Down Beat Critics’ Poll. He often supported other musicians on Blue Note, including saxophonists Hank Mobley, Ike Quebec, Stanley Turrentine, and organist Larry Young.

Sunday Mornin’, The Latin Bit, and Feelin’ the Spirit are concept albums, each focusing on a specific musical theme or style: gospel, Latin, and spirituals. Green’s recordings during this time, such as Idle Moments (1963) with Joe Henderson and Bobby Hutcherson and Solid (1964), are considered among his best work by jazz critics.

Many of Green’s recordings were not released during his lifetime. These include albums he made with pianist Sonny Clark between 1961 and 1962, later released in 1997 by Mosaic as The Complete Grant Green & Sonny Clark. Two other albums from 1964, Matador and Solid, featured McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones from the John Coltrane Quartet. In 1966, Green left Blue Note and recorded for other labels, including Verve. From 1967 to 1969, he was inactive due to personal problems and the effects of heroin addiction. In 1969, he returned to Blue Note but mostly played in R&B settings. His recordings from that time include the commercially successful Green Is Beautiful and the soundtrack for the film The Final Comedown.

In most of 1978, Green was in the hospital. Against doctors’ advice, he returned to performing to earn money. While in New York City to play at George Benson’s Breezin’ Lounge, he collapsed in his car after a heart attack and died on January 31, 1979. He was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in his hometown of St. Louis and was survived by six children, including his son Grant Green Jr., who is also a guitarist. In 2017, the Killer Blues Headstone Project placed a headstone for Grant Green.

Artistry and equipment

Grant Green recorded many songs for Blue Note Records as both a leader and a member of other musicians' groups. He played in several musical styles, including hard bop, soul jazz, bebop, and Latin-influenced music throughout his career. Critic Michael Erlewine wrote, "Grant Green was not well-known during his lifetime, but he is one of the great unsung heroes of jazz guitar. His playing is easy to recognize—perhaps more than any other guitarist." Critic Dave Hunter described his sound as "smooth, relaxed, a bit bluesy, and full of rhythm." The simple and direct style of Green's playing, which avoided complex musical scales, came from his early experience playing rhythm and blues. Although he combined this style with bebop, he was also skilled at playing blues and funk guitar and returned to these styles later in his career. Jazz educator Wolf Marshall said, "Grant Green's mix of bebop, blues, and funk made him one of the most important soul jazz and hard bop guitarists from the start."

He often performed in an organ trio, a small group that included a Hammond organ and a drummer. Besides guitarist Charlie Christian, Green's main influences were saxophonists, especially Charlie Parker. His playing style focused mostly on single notes rather than chords.

Green used several guitars, including a Gibson ES-330, a Gibson L7 with a Gibson McCarty pickguard/pickup, an Epiphone Emperor (with the same pickup), and a custom-built D'Aquisto. According to his student and fellow guitarist George Benson, Green created his unique sound by lowering the bass and treble settings on his amplifier to emphasize the midrange. This helped him achieve his signature punchy and sharp tone.