Grant Green Style _., = Despite a string of classic Blue Note recordings, Grant Green is frequently overlooked. In the first of a two-part feature, Pete Callard stigates the playing style of one of the genre’s unsung heroes. rarly using double-sops inhi th particular emphasis side of his paying, GET THE TONE leading to Green 1 Grant Green priranly wed albeit uniting, contri foundation of hip-hop (Blue Note even released a Gr compiation, Blue th four 2 ar oo tenn speakers, To emule hi ou xe hallow ‘tection for Green and became simple musicality and engasing thelistener The bes plays ne template for much of his quent wok, Italo mack There was never a dull minute when Grant was playing the guitar. Everybody loved him 99 George Benson 78 GuitarTechniqnes DecembExample 1 is over a Gm? vamp, The fist five bars area great example conventionally azz, with Green binging out the F#to imply 07 and ‘of pentatonic substitution, with Green moving between Am, Gm, moting between G Melodic minor and G Dorian with the occasional ‘Amand Om pentatonic ina sow ascent. The final four bars are ore chromatic passing note. > 208 on7 pe rer ert ere Cs) ‘The following few examples highlight Green's playing on a blues. (bars 6 and 7) with various chromatic passing notes thrown in. The Example 2's chorus on a gospelstye blues in. This salovely_thythmic element is great too, with Green freely moving between ‘ample of bives playing witha jazz edge, as Green maves between 8th notes, triplets and 16th notes while stil etaining an effortlessly major and minar pentatonic ideas, arpeggios and G Mixolydian oo! laid-back feel December 2007 GultarTechniques 79ONTHECD © Tracks 43-52 Cons oe! ‘This sa more conventional azz blues in Bb, with Green starting ‘outline £69411 over Eb7, Ove the G7 he highlights the chord tones sparsely around a BD6 arpeggio. The move from Bb7 to Eb7 imbars and Altered, then takes the Cm7 idea and moves it up a minor third ‘and 5 lovely, with Green playing a Sb augmented arpeggio to. _over the F7 (the Cm -G7#S ides over the Cro7 becomes halftwhole Setup the V-l move to Eb, then moving the idea down ahalstep to dminshed over the F7 before resolving to Bb. iam 07 . i Cn oe! Examples 4 and S are two lines over the opening bars of Bb blues. and Eb in the fist two bars, moving into a IV line implying Fm9, C7, Example 4 can early idea, wth Green simply and sparsely cutlining 8 Fn and Bb Mixolyian and ending on a great triplet phrase on Eb7 Gass Cui one ‘This idea comes from afew years late and shows a greater confidence Fi? forthe fst part ofthe lovely phrase over the I-V1 in bars 3105 {and relarednes in the phrasing and wes, with some great triplet. andeending on a Dbmaj7 idea over the Eb. t also features a couple of flourishes. Green starts around Bb Modan, largely playing around Sweep ideas in bars 3 and 5 (moe on that next month... eee ONTHECD @ Here we have the first half fa Blues in C minor that demonstrates the chromatic passing notes. Over the C7 he outlines C7 resolving to inereasad sophistication of Green's mid 60s playing, Over the Cm, Fn/F Dorian, implying G7 at the end of bar 7 and the start of bar 8 to Green uses € melodic minoe fr the fst two bars then C Dorian with setup a Vl resolution back to Cm £80 GuitarTechniques December 2007Cte) PCN eEeaNIe Cs oe Here's is a melodic, diatonic -V ne in Gb, with Green implying bmn? ‘and-Abm? over the Abm?, Abm and DBS ove the DB7 and ending in {Gb major over the Gbmaj7 chord Cus oe! in bar 1, F Altered scale over the F? in bar 2 and Bb major over Bomaj7 “Thi is another V1 idea, this time in Bo, and highlights the rhythmic sophistication in Green's paying, moving between Sth notes, 8th note The ast two bars are great, mith Green highlighting each rhythmic ttplts, 1th notes, Ith tole and ending with a great syncopated anticipation by landing onthe note above each Bb chord tone, before ‘dea, alin four bars! The tris ae 2 particular feature of Green's style, ‘resolving’ downto the chord tone. ‘ase pays around C Dorian with G? implied and chromatic movement Cd taken entirely fom minor pentatonc/bues scale, but features great phrasing as Green takes a simple ascending idea but break it up Fythmicall 10 create @ very sophisticated sounding syncopated line ae Maw EES Here's an example of Green's racer 70s style, where his az2 vocabulary takes 2 backseat ashe focuses on simpler, funkier rhythmic ideas ove stati vamp This ine armanicaly very straightforward, December 2007 GuitarTechniques 81xxs TONTHECD % Tacksé168 Grant Green Style x= ¥ In the second of this two-part feature, Pete Callard delves deeper into the playing style of Grant Green, one of the unsung heroes of jazz guitar Co S888 oderate/Advanced ri Buc Note Wiltimprove your: 1 Soicing vocabulary aterm ePrvasing knowledge at funk decton lve 1970) sag0od string pont AST MONTH WE looked at ran elas t note ofthe bt ving Green's bakgr sense of propulsion and swing to the slain that ia amount of ‘ut some examples o ‘aking in pent Motifs Displacement Groen caking a Green enjoyed changing the GET THE TONE Grantee penal used a Gibsen 30, aGbson 7, an Enphone=npetorand a DAausto New Yr He ao used Gibson Pizemawth four andtwo ‘eminch gabe Toes his Sounds ta holon aur “ideal wth teary acura ‘Syncopation ina, then moves plays thes unl he end far 8h round he note Ab on Long before the days of Frank Gambale or Yngwie Malmsteen, jazz guitarists were sweep-; ‘78 GuitarTeehniques January 2008Based around I-v-/Aumaround progression in Db, here's reat example (lately straightferwatd, with Geen aoey playing arcund Eb nine/Ob ‘of Breaking up phrases to create tythmic interest, In harmon msi’ malo, though he suggests Db7 in bar 4and outs B76 nba 5, ein ar o Jee Fm a em? ar ob Ps eo ace around 3 ILV-LW in Gb and a minor In Bb ino Green ‘sees Green taking the same three notes (E.Gb ad bl hrough the changes Stars yt a threenote motif based around Abr, ening down the Db ~aivng hit a #th, Sth end 3 over Coma ath, bth and 83rd ove? halfole scale nofoeat oer Ob7, returning Io the tnee-patemott CTs; ardroo, Bath and Bh ver F7. He esles fo Rom n har ane ttheendof bar 3 and resolving 10, The spaced maifinxs5 t07 9, ishing the phrase uncharacterstcaly with chord (Bhmedd), Amt bir lmai7 may =e i Ps ‘er the initia minor iL inF minor, Geenstarts with afoucrete matt lead into another long tiple line ove a-Vin Eb, with Green playing rmocingcvomatialy rom the rot t te icon GMPeS, played on beats a great chromatic idea over Fn? and moun between Cm and 8675 ‘wo and four then diced starting onthe dowribeatin br 3 and leading arpeggios over Bb, anticipating the resolution to Ebmaj7 bar # and Into an fm phiase cue C7 and Fi. A syparmpaesd C7 arpeggioin bar sling ioe changes forthe ira me V4 nC Jeu 7 Fat January 2008 GuitavTechniques 79ONTHECD @ Tiscks 61-68 CONTINUED ins) 7 CX ee Practically a complete quide to Gant Green's paying syleina sindlline, tanga t6throte till down a semitone and then ass atin, changing with lad-back prasing, displaced ments, racesotesides, tis, sweeping, to an ascending tpl ratf mbar 6. Inbar? hesupenmpass ars hte roupings and great now choice There's alot yong here—check _afpegnio aver DnB, mavng to G7, hen in bat Btakes a pet chromatic fut bars 2and 3, whera he changes the rhythmic drecion gi thephrases motf down in whole-steps flowed by achromatictil and an F7 ea, end To create cal and ansner ea. tars and feature a great eb major ck, Snhes on b major pentatonte verte Boma lone er enn mr tee fees Cs rarple Sis virtual template of Grant Greens svisep-picing approach tine and changngit both fythrally and notes the Ht tina He Green tended to sweep simple rd shapes, nd inexample 5 (ver = G7 then aves the sameshape up the neck to gue 2 Gri? atpegsi (a §), ora he takes a8 tras folowed by Dm vith ahammered-on bith in fllowed.y a cromtic es (sear to Ex 4 bar 8) and fishing wth an = tvee-best pase which ha peas fou times, displacing self ach idea mang betwen G minor, & meade minar ane miner penaten {80 GuiltarTeehniquesJanvary 2008CONTINUED CX mee Here's an example f up and down cep with Geen siding intoan placed triplet moti in bar 4 smart x 2) and sweeping down an AAbmaj sveptarpegge idee etound D705 and bmi, moveg toa Abadi argeggio oer G7 ending on the 3th (©) over Cr ont Amait 4-200 : “his example aga features several aspect of Greens bictback playing another iplt motf based around an Ab note, with Green providing ‘fe that weve baer dissing, On a progression mening between GB? thythmic punctuation by moving between Ab on the second string and {nd Db? he takes ase descend idea oars 1'0.3)bul veavesa siding upto ton the thd sting, using adplacerent pattern based on Complex rhythmic ine romit, mening between quart-notes, th note groups of four For the final two bars he plays around 9 ino: penton trplots and Bh notes and progressing into a sweeping dea based ound and Bl minor pentatonic over DB? Analy ending onthe major 3d (F (Chand £bm7 arpeggios (bar 4 smiar to Ex, 095) Bars Sands teste deus January 2008 GaitarTechniques 81