Yusef Lateef and Brother Jack McDuff, then Green's employer, make a rare Blue Note appearance on this soulful Grant Green classic, which includes the magnificent slow blues "Blues In Maude's Flat" and a seductive version of "My Funny Valentine". Audiophile mastering by Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman at AcousTech from the Original Master Tapes and pressed to 180g virgin vinyl at RTI.

• Limited Edition
• Numbered Edition
• Mastered from the Original Analog Master Tapes
• Mastered by Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman
• Mastered at AcousTech
• Two 180g Virgin Vinyl LPs at 45rpm
• Pressed by RTI USA

Grant Green's third album to be released, Grantstand teams the clear-toned guitarist with an unlikely backing group of musicians who rarely appeared with Blue Note otherwise: tenor saxophonist Yusef Lateef (who doubles on flute), organist Brother Jack McDuff, and drummer Al Harewood. Although Lateef was beginning to delve deeply into Eastern tonalities and instruments around the same time, his playing here is pretty straightforward and swinging, fitting the relaxed, bop-tinged soul-jazz that makes up most of the session.

For his part, McDuff is mellower than his usual ferocious self, laying back and swinging with a blissful ease. Green contributes two bluesy originals, the nine-minute title track and the 15-minute "Blues in Maude's Flat," which are turned into loose, loping jams that rank as some of the best examples of Green's ability to work an extended groove. Elsewhere, Green leads a delicate, sensitive exploration of "My Funny Valentine" that ended up as his greatest standard performance to date, setting the stage for a great deal more work in this vein that was soon to be forthcoming (including his brilliant sessions with Sonny Clark).

Still, the groove is what reigns supreme for most of the album; if you're looking for Green the soul-jazz groovemaster, Grantstand is an excellent place to find him. - Steve Huey, All Music

Musicians:

Grant Green, guitar
Yusef Lateef, tenor saxophone, flute
Brother Jack McDuff, organ
Al Harewood, drums

Track Listing:

1. Grantstand
2. My Funny Valentine
3. Blues In Maude's Flat
4. Old Folks

Click here to listen to samples on AllMusic.com