A severely underrated
jazz guitarist during his lifetime, Grant Green combined R&B with a mastery of bebop and a kind of simplicity that put expressiveness in the spotlight, while also being a superb
blues artist. He began playing his instrument as early as grade school, learning from his father, who was a guitar player himself. By the age of 13, Green played professionally in a
gospel group. In the 1960s, he moved to New York and cemented his reputation as a star working for
Blue Note in different constellations. Green played with legends such as
Herbie Hancock or
Yusef Lateef during the 60s and 70s, although he first struggled to receive critical acclaim from his colleagues. Unfortunately, drug use not only interrupted his career during the 60s, but also led to later illness, leaving Green hospitalized in 1978. In the following year, he passed away and left behind a great body of work full of marvelous
soul,
jazz, bebop and
blues.
