 Grant Green One of the all-time great Blue Notes, Grant Green's Idle Moments is a 100% work of art, soul-satisfying though and through. It's been remastered in Blue Note's amazing Rudy Van Gelder Edition (something like 30 CDs available separately with sparkling sound and brilliant packaging). If there were justice in the world, the entire Blue Note catalog would be made available in this fashion, but it's especially nice that the series producers have seen fit to select the real cream of the crop to receive the royal treatment. Newcomers to jazz, after dipping their toes in the waters of Miles and Trane and perhaps Billie Holiday, at some point begin to gravitate toward Blue Note records – then and now, the best jazz money can buy. The trouble to the neophyte is, with little point of reference as to what is legendarily great and what is merely run-of-the-mill great, where to start? So many great album covers, so many great players. Blue Note quickly becomes habit-forming. You find one you really dig, then you start chasing down the players from that album – Wow, Lee Morgan's on this one too – hey, Herbie Hancock played with that guy? – Oh my god, Joe Henderson must have recorded like 100 albums a week! Soon, you're flat broke, but you don't care, because jazz is your fix. So, er, my point amidst all that ejaculation is that the Rudy Van Gelder remasters are uniformly excellent – for the newcomer, easy and safe places to start the Blue Note habit. For connoisseurs, they present yet another opportunity to shell out some money for timeless, truly classic music – sure, you bought it on LP, and then again on LP in the late 70s, then again on CD in the 80s. Here it is again on CD in the 90s – but you're powerless. The sound is clearer and punchier than ever, Rudy himself having breathed new life into recordings that were already way ahead of the sonic curve to begin with. The packaging finally does justice to Blue Note's visual appeal – let's face it, 1987 CD issue of Idle Moments hardly stands up and declares itself a work of art. But this one pops, jumps, and grooves – a magnificent session featuring some of the best playing any of the players ever laid down. Look no further than the title track, clocking in at almost 15 minutes but sounding as fresh, insistent, and natural as anything – it's a bewitching performance and you never notice the length. Few songs that long are able to sustain a relaxed atmosphere without simply becoming boring, but there's a reason this album has remained a bestseller for more than 25 years. Duke Pearson's soulful piano, assisted by Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, playing straight but with much character – and of course, Grant Green's singing guitar tone coasting on top of it all, thrilling and magnificent. The rhythm section of Bob Cranshaw on bass and Al Harewood on drums is not the best Grant ever played with, but they're totally in the pocket throughout the CD. And don't forget Joe Henderson – he doesn't even show up until about eight minutes into "Idle Moments," but when he does he plays with a softness and delicacy, yet an urgency, that really puts you in awe. This guy is probably the ultimate jazz journeyman – as much a titan as Sonny Rollins or Kenny G (um, joking!) but possibly more impressive in his countless appearances as a sideman. I'm getting ready to vote him Jazz MVP of the Century, for outstanding solo work as well as incredible team spirit. If the album ended with the first track, it'd still be better than Exile on Main Street, but it just keeps going. "Jean de Fleur," intense but pretty; "Django," subdued and thoughtful but catchy; "Nomad," winding and deep like a river of song – a 12 minute workout with what may be Grant's finest ever solo (skip up to around 7:11 or so – about 90 straight seconds of some of the most subtly brilliant yet non-theatrical soloing you're ever going to hear out of a guitarist, that's for damn sure). The CD adds alternate versions of "jean de Fleur" and "Django" – more and more of a couple very good things. Obscurantist though I am, I can't argue with the experts on this one – Idle Moments is essential, one of several bits of perfection and near-perfection Grant gave us during an incredible "on" streak in the early 60s – you think Sammy Sosa is fantastic, well imagine a home run for every at-bat for three or four straight seasons and you start seeing how great Grant Green was when Grant was good. It didn't last forever, and Grant Green left us without ever returning to this kind of magic – but then, he left us Idle Moments, that alone secures his place in the Pantheon – the other ten or so masterpieces are only icing on the cake. Ah, why are you still reading this anyway, go out right away and get this album, it's amazing stuff.
Review by Nancy Draw |
