 Grant Green Feelin' the Spirit is as close to perfect as an album can get while remaining somehow intangibly less than perfect. Every track is memorable and stirring, and the performances from each musician are wonderful. Whosever idea it was for Grant Green to record an album of spirituals, I thank wholeheartedly. Grant, on guitar, is supported by Herbie Hancock on piano, Butch Warren on bass, the great Billy Higgins on drums, and the only musician I've ever seen credited separately for tambourine, Garvin Masseaux (wonder why he never made an album as a leader? Weren't tambourine-based jazz records really popular in the '60s?). Hancock in particular delivers a stellar performance; he is really in his element with this material, supplanting his usual cerebrality with a simple, joyful approach. "Just A Closer Walk With Thee," "Joshua Fit De Battle Of Jericho" (no English translation has been provided), "Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen," "Go Down Moses," "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child," and "Deep River" … six tracks, it's all good. Green is great because he can illuminate the flair in the melody itself without having to resort to empty theatrics for demonstration. His restraint and taste are marvelous. The only thing I can say about Feelin' the Spirit that I feel compromises its excellence is its excellence! It might be a scad too well-executed, almost like by being exactly what it's cracked up to be, it can be no more. However, when a CD is being faulted for being too great, a little perspective is needed. Grant Green's great albums (and he made a lot of them) tower over most other artists' very best work. If he didn't always surprise, that has more to do with consistent excellence than underperformance. I'd rank this as #2 or #3 of Grant Green's best (Sunday Morning and Idle Moments being the perfect ones) … an album truly deserving its status as a jazz classic. See you in church! (Last sentence tagged on for nominal comic effect.)
Review by Davareaux Doyle |