Grant Green - I Want To Hold Your Hand (1965/2013) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

On this follow-up to "Street Of Dreams", guitarist Grant Green brings his soft, easy style to a collection of love songs, including both jazz standards and pop tunes. From the classic jazz numbers "Stella By Starlight" and Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Corcovado" to the title track, a cover of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" by the Beatles, Green and his musicians deliver sophisticated and engaging interpretations of these timeless romantic songs.

The third of three sessions Grant Green co-led with modal organist Larry Young and Coltrane drummer Elvin Jones, I Want to Hold Your Hand continues in the soft, easy style of its predecessor, Street of Dreams. This time, however – as one might guess from the title and cover photo – the flavor is less reflective and more romantic and outwardly engaging. Part of the reason is tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley, who takes vibe player Bobby Hutcherson's place accompanying the core trio. His breathy, sensuous warmth keeps the album simmering at a low boil, and some of the repertoire helps as well, mixing romantic ballad standards (often associated with vocalists) and gently undulating bossa novas. The title track – yes, the Beatles tune – is one of the latter, cleverly adapted and arranged into perfectly viable jazz that suits Green's elegant touch with pop standards; the other bossa nova, Jobim's "Corcovado," is given a wonderfully caressing treatment. Even with all the straightforward pop overtones of much of the material, the quartet's playing is still very subtly advanced, both in its rhythmic interaction and the soloists' harmonic choices. Whether augmented by an extra voice or sticking to the basic trio format, the Green/Young/Jones team produced some of the most sophisticated organ/guitar combo music ever waxed, and I Want to Hold Your Hand is the loveliest of the bunch.

Tracklist:

01 - I Want To Hold Your Hand
02 - Speak Low
03 - Stella By Starlight
04 - Corcovado (Quiet Nights)
05 - This Could Be The Start Of Something
06 - At Long Last Love

Produced by Alfred Lion. Engineered by Rudy Van Gelder.
Recorded on March 31, 1965 at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

Musicians:
Grant Green - guitar
Hank Mobley - tenor saxophone
Larry Young - organ
Elvin Jones - drums


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