Grant Green - Idle Moments [180g, Blue] (LP) Vinyl

Idle Moments is an album by the American jazz guitarist Grant Green, recorded in 1963 and released on Blue Note in February 1965. Built around four long, unhurried performances rather than short blowing vehicles, it is the record most often recommended as the entry point into Green's catalogue, and AllMusic calls it "the essential first Green purchase".

The Album

Green leads a sextet of tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, pianist Duke Pearson, bassist Bob Cranshaw and drummer Al Harewood, with Alfred Lion producing. Four pieces make up the programme: Pearson's title track and "Nomad", Green's own "Jean De Fleur" and John Lewis's "Django". Hutcherson's vibraphone sits at the centre of the record's atmosphere, giving the group a cool, spacious texture behind Green's single note lines. In his sleeve notes Pearson writes that "from the moody Idle Moments, to the swiftly moving Jean de Fleur, graduating to the 'blue-tinged' Django, and finally to the 'roving' Nomad, Grant Green is always at home".

Recording

The sessions took place on 4 and 15 November 1963 at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, with Rudy Van Gelder engineering. The title piece, a slow composition in C minor, runs for close to fifteen minutes. Pearson, who wrote it, explains in his liner notes that the tune was meant to be much shorter; because the musicians repeated the main melody twice, there was some confusion as to whether one chorus consisted of 16 or 32 bars. Alfred Lion was satisfied with the take, though he suggested a retake to fit the song into a seven minute limit. The first take had a feeling that no subsequent attempt could recapture, so that was the take released. To make room for it, "Jean De Fleur" and "Django" were re-recorded in shorter renditions; the extended versions of both have since appeared on CD reissues. The original LP runs 42 minutes 45 seconds.

Cover Artwork

The sleeve is Blue Note house work of the classic period: cover photography by Francis Wolff, showing Green's hands at the fingerboard under a blue duotone treatment, with cover design by Reid Miles.

This Pressing

This is the limited edition reissue released on 8 November 2024 by Blue Note through UMe under catalogue number 602465117455, sold as an independent retail exclusive. It is a single 12 inch LP pressed in stereo on 180 gram blue coloured vinyl, with lacquers cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio. The record labels retain the original stereo catalogue number, BST 84154. The release forms part of the Blue Note 85 series, and the front sleeve carries an "85 Blue Note" strip reading "Celebrating the finest in jazz since 1939" and "with the treasures of Blue Note Records on limited edition 180 gram blue color vinyl".

Reception

Steve Huey of AllMusic awarded the album five stars out of five, writing that Green treats the repertoire "with the graceful elegance that was the hallmark of his best hard bop sessions, and that quality achieves its fullest expression here", and concluding that Idle Moments "is the essential first Green purchase, and some of the finest guitar jazz of the hard bop era". Down Beat gave it four stars out of five in 1965 and The Penguin Guide to Jazz four stars out of four. The jazz historian Scott Yanow lists it among his 17 Essential Hard Bop Recordings.

Track Listing

Side 1
1. Idle Moments (Duke Pearson)
2. Jean De Fleur (Grant Green)

Side 2
1. Django (John Lewis)
2. Nomad (Duke Pearson)