Grant Green’s ‘Am I Blue?’ is one of the least issued
and sometimes harder to find of his many prolific recordings, which ultimately
is just as well, as sadly despite occurring in his prime period it’s also one
of his least interesting. In theory and on paper it certainly has everything to
be a good grouping; the winning organ trio of Green, Big John Patton and Ben
Dixon (always excellent together) with the excellent Joe Henderson on tenor
sax, and Johnny Coles on the trumpet. In practice though, it’s sorely missing
what made most of Greens work frequently excellent.
Everyone here plays well, but the material – all
covers - is weak and mostly below par. For the most part mid and slow tempo,
the mood is laid-back but often sleepy and, just occasionally, dull.
Interaction between the members is weak too, almost as though everyone was
tired and playing at the end of a rough session and sounding not at all like
they were even in the studio at the same time. On the plus side, Henderson
‘Am I Blue?’ is certainly listenable, and even a below-average
Green album is still well worth hearing. Best of all, it marks the end of the run
of ‘themed-concept’ albums that he had been required to record, having gone
through varying levels of success with gospel, country, spiritual, latin and
now blues. This is not a bad album; rather it is a lesser effort from a usually
sublime artist. After this he would go on to his undisputable career
high-point, recording a cracking run of sublime albums that anybody should own
before this one; ‘Idle Moments’, ‘Matador’, ‘Solid’, ‘Talkin’ About’ and
‘Street Of Dreams’. Compared to those masterworks, this doesn’t match-up by
quite some way, and it certainly pales against his first works for Blue Note before
the themes crept in, but if you need your Green fix this is alright. Mostly
this is a distinctly average effort from a premier musician.
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Am I Blue is a Blue Note soul jazz album released in 1964, featuring the nearly thirty-year-old guitarist Grant Green alongside Johnny Coles on trumpet, Joe Henderson on tenor saxophone, “Big” John Patton on organ, and Green’s usual drummer, Ben Dixon.
ReplyDeleteThe album is mostly defined by its slower pieces, “Am I Blue,” “I Wanna Be Loved,” and “Sweet Slumber,” which clearly lack inspiration and risk-taking. On “Take These Chains from My Heart,” Green already offers a bit more, while Dixon brings some extra energy to the track. As for “For All We Know,” I almost get the feeling that the group is trying to save the session with this nearly fourteen-minute piece, which is worth hearing without being particularly outstanding.
Overall, it is one of Green’s least recommendable Blue Note albums of the 1960s, without being disastrous either.