Bio

Grant Green was born in 1935 in St. Louis, Missouri. His early musical experiences in St. Louis were very gospel and boogie woogie related, with Grant Green only getting into jazz gradually. While he was in St. Louis, some of the first albums he appeared on were those of saxophonist Jimmy Forrest. Grant Green would also meet and play with Elvin Jones during these sessions. He was discovered in a St. Louis bar by Lou Donaldson, who convinced Grant Green to join his band. After this period, he relocated to New York in 1960. He was introduced to Alfred Lion of Blue Note Records by Donaldson, and eventually Green would go on to make the highest number of appearances for the label. He would record this record number of dates as a leader and as a sideman. Grant Green’s style can be broken down into a few phases: His early work and experience is very Gospel and Blues oriented. During his first stint with Blue Note in the 60’s, his playing is deep in the hard bop bag, with his playing anchoring albums by the likes of Hank Mobley, Ike Quebec, and Stanley Turrentine. Finally, in the 70’s, he is credited as the “Father” of acid jazz, a new style which would bring many more electric instruments to the forefront of jazz. Some notable musicians that Grant Green played with are, Sonny Clark, McCoy Tyner, Idris Muhammad, and many many more.