Feelin' the Spirit

Feelin' the Spirit

by Grant Green
Feelin' the Spirit

Feelin' the Spirit

by Grant Green

Vinyl LP(Long Playing Record)

$41.99 
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Overview

Broadening his musical palette, Grant Green detoured into a number of "theme" sessions in 1962 -- the light Latin jazz of The Latin Bit; the country & western standards of Goin' West; and the best of the bunch, the old-time gospel album Feelin' the Spirit. For Feelin' the Spirit, Green takes five traditional, public-domain African-American spirituals (plus the CD bonus track "Deep River") and gives them convincing jazz treatments in a quartet-plus-tambourine setting. Green's light touch and clear tone match very well with the reverent material, and pianist Herbie Hancock is tremendous in support, serving the needs of the music and nailing the bright gospel style perfectly. Similarly, Green's playing never gets too complicated or loses sight of the melodies, yet he never runs short of ideas -- which goes to show that Feelin' the Spirit is indeed a labor of love. Opening with a jaunty "Just a Closer Walk With Thee," Green and Hancock work up an impassioned gospel fervor on "Go Down Moses," which is loaded with soulful, bluesy tradeoffs. Yet overall, the mood is fairly reflective, with Green's interpretations of "Joshua Fit de Battle ob Jericho," "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen," and "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" pointing up the suffering and sorrow behind these standards -- with the implication that suffering still continued into 1962. That's not to say Feelin' the Spirit is a depressing album, though; it's simply infused with the spirit of the blues, which is part of the reason these songs translate so surprisingly well despite their harmonic simplicity. Green, Hancock, bassist Butch Warren, and drummer Billy Higgins keep the grooves flowing throughout, making Feelin' the Spirit a rousingly successful experiment. ~ Steve Huey

Product Details

Release Date: 10/07/2022
Label: Blue Note
UPC: 0602435732138
Rank: 39552

Tracks

  1. Just a Closer Walk with Thee
  2. Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho
  3. Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen
  4. Go Down Moses
  5. Sometimes I Feel like a Motherless Child
  6. Deep River

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Grant Green   Primary Artist,Guitar
Butch Warren   Double Bass,Bass
Billy Higgins   Guest Artist,Drums
Herbie Hancock   Guest Artist,Piano
Garvin Masseaux   Tabla,Percussion,Tambourine

Technical Credits

Rudy Van Gelder   Audio Engineer,Engineer
Alfred Lion   Audio Production,Producer
Traditional   Composer
Francis Wolff   Photography
Harry (Henry) Thacker Burleigh   Composer
Ron McMaster   Digital Transfers
Michael Cuscuna   Reissue Producer
Joe Goldberg   Liner Notes
Reid Miles   Cover Design
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