LP – This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

In Spring 1964, guitarist Grant Green recorded two blazing post-bop albumsMatador and Solidboth of which would go unreleased for more than a decade as Blue Note instead decided to release the guitarists organ-based soul jazz outings of the time. Green had hinted at this post-bop direction on his 1963 masterpiece Idle Moments, and for the Matador session assembled a quartet with pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Bob Cranshaw, and Elvin Jones. A month later Green returned to Van Gelder Studio and expanded the band to a state-of-the-art sextet with the addition of tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson and alto saxophonist James Spaulding. The high-octane set kicks into gear right from the jump on Duke Pearsons Minor League and burns through George Russells hard-charging Ezz-Thetic with other highlights including Greens evocative Grants Tune, the Sonny Rollins blues Solid, and an emphatic version of Hendersons The Kicker.

This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

Tracklist:

Side A
A1: Minor League
A2: Ezz-Thetic

Side B
B1: Grant’s Tune
B2: Solid
B3: The Kicker