Lost Tapes Found: Grant Green in 1961
Green, Ware, and Harewood made something lean and direct that deserved to be heard decades sooner.
Remembering arrived in 1980 as a surprise — recordings Green made nearly two decades earlier that had simply sat in the vault. The sessions happened in 1961, when Green was in his thirties and deep into the Blue Note catalog, but these performances never got the release they warranted at the time. What came out instead was a solid snapshot of Green doing what he did consistently well: playing guitar with clarity and swing, no wasted motion.
The trio here is tight and purposeful. Wilbur Ware on bass and Al Harewood on drums give Green exactly what he needs — a solid bottom end and responsive comping without anybody trying to dominate the room. These are working sessions, the kind where the music matters more than who's listening. Green plays clean, melodic lines that sit comfortably in the swing tradition; he's not trying to reinvent anything or push into experimental territory. He's being professional and musical, which some listeners will find refreshing and others might find straightforward to the point of not demanding much attention.
The delay in release is worth noting because it says something about the jazz business at the time. Sessions this competent got shelved. By the time this appeared, Green's career had shifted through several phases, so Remembering reads as a document from a specific moment rather than a current statement. The 1998 CD reissue added extra material from the same sessions, giving listeners more of the same approach. It's not an album that rewrites anything or stands as his peak work. It's useful for fans tracking Green's output and curious enough for anyone wanting to hear a skilled guitarist in a working trio setting, playing it straight.
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