Alive! (Grant Green album)
Encyclopedia
Alive! is an album by American jazz guitarist Grant Green
featuring a performance recorded at the Cliche Lounge in Newark, New Jersey
in 1970 and released on the Blue Note
label. The album was Green's first official live recording. The CD reissue added three bounus tracks.
Grant Green
Grant Green was a jazz guitarist and composer....
featuring a performance recorded at the Cliche Lounge in Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
in 1970 and released on the Blue Note
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
label. The album was Green's first official live recording. The CD reissue added three bounus tracks.
Reception
The Allmusic review by Steve Huey awarded the album 4 stars and stated "Alive! is the hardest funk LP Grant Green recorded during the later phase of his career... this is the most convincing and consistent Green had been as a funkster and, while nearly all of his albums from the early '70s feature at least some worthwhile material for acid jazz and beat-sampling junkies, Alive! is probably the best place to start".Track listing
- "Let the Music Take Your Mind" (Kool & the GangKool & the GangKool & the Gang are an American jazz, R&B, soul, and funk group, originally formed as the Jazziacs in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1964.They went through several musical phases during the course of their recording career, starting out with a purist jazz sound, then becoming practitioners of R&B and...
, Gene Redd) - 8:42 - "Time To Remember" (Neal CrequeNeal CrequeNeal Creque whose real name is Earl Neal Creque was an American jazz composer, born April 13, 1940 and originally from the Virgin Islands; he was based in the Cleveland area up until his death....
) - 11:19 - Band introduction by Buddy Green - 0:32
- "Sookie, Sookie" (Don CovayDon CovayDon Covay is an American R&B/rock and roll/soul music singer and songwriter most active in the 1950s and 1960s, who received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1994...
, Steve CropperSteve CropperSteve Cropper , also known as Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T...
) - 11:10 - "Down Here on the Ground" (Gale GarnettGale GarnettGale Zoë Garnett is a New Zealand-born Canadian singer best known in the United States for her Grammy-winning folk hit "We'll Sing in the Sunshine." Garnett has since carved out a career as a writer and actress.-Biography:...
, Lalo SchifrinLalo SchifrinLalo Schifrin is an Argentine composer, pianist and conductor. He is best known for his film and TV scores, such as the "Theme from Mission: Impossible". He has received four Grammy Awards and six Oscar nominations...
) - 6:45 - "Hey, Western Union ManHey, Western Union Man"Hey, Western Union Man" is a 1968 soul single by Jerry Butler written by Butler with Kenny Gamble, and Leon Huff. The single became Jerry Butler's second number one R&B hit on the Billboard chart, where it stayed for a week. "Hey, Western Union Man" was also part of a string of Top 40 crossover...
" (Jerry ButlerJerry Butler (singer)Jerry Butler is an American soul singer and songwriter. He is also noted as being the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group, The Impressions, as well as a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.Butler is also an American politician...
, Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff) - 7:46 Bonus track on CD reissue - "It's Your ThingIt's Your Thing"It's Your Thing" is an influential funk single by the Isley Brothers. Released in 1969, the funk anthem was an artistic response to Motown chief Berry Gordy's demanding hold on his artists after the Isleys left the label in late-1968....
" (Ronald IsleyRonald IsleyRonald Isley is an American singer and is known as the lead singer and founding member of the family music group The Isley Brothers.-Career:...
, O'Kelly Isley, Jr.O'Kelly Isley, Jr.O'Kelly Isley, Jr. , better known as Kelly Isley, was an American singer and one of the founding members of the legendary family group, The Isley Brothers.-Biography:...
, Rudolph IsleyRudolph IsleyRudolph Bernard Isley , better known as Rudy Isley, is an American singer-songwriter and is one of the founding members of the legendary family group, The Isley Brothers.-Biography:...
) - 9:17 Bonus track on CD reissue - "Maiden VoyageMaiden Voyage (composition)"Maiden Voyage" is a jazz composition by Herbie Hancock from his 1965 album Maiden Voyage. It features Hancock's quartet – trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams – with additional saxophonist George Coleman...
" (Herbie HancockHerbie HancockHerbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
) - 10:58 Bonus track on CD reissue- Recorded at the Cliche Lounge in Newark, New Jersey on August 15, 1970
Personnel
- Grant GreenGrant GreenGrant Green was a jazz guitarist and composer....
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Claude Bartee - tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
- Willie Bivens - vibesVibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
- Neal CrequeNeal CrequeNeal Creque whose real name is Earl Neal Creque was an American jazz composer, born April 13, 1940 and originally from the Virgin Islands; he was based in the Cleveland area up until his death....
(tracks 2 & 5), Ronnie FosterRonnie FosterRonnie Foster is an American funk and soul-jazz organist, and record producer. His albums recorded for Blue Note Records in the 1970s has obtained a cult following after the emergence of acid-jazz.-Biography:...
(tracks 1, 4 & 6-8) - organElectronic organAn electronic organ is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally, it was designed to imitate the sound of pipe organs, theatre organs, band sounds, or orchestral sounds.... - Idris MuhammadIdris MuhammadIdris Muhammad is a jazz drummer. He changed his name in the 1960s upon his conversion to Islam. He is known for his funky playing style. He has released a number of albums as leader, and has played with a number of jazz legends including Lou Donaldson, Johnny Griffin, Pharoah Sanders and Grover...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Joseph Armstrong - congas
- Bobby Green - announcerAnnouncerAn announcer is a presenter who makes "announcements" in an audio medium or a physical location.-Television and other media:Some announcers work in television production , radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, news updates, station identification, or an introduction of a product in...