Giants

Praise from an extremely qualified mouth comes from none other than Pat Martino: "Barry Greene is just about one of the best; not only as a player, but also as a writer and a teacher... a world-class musician."

"'GIANTS' is jazz guitarist Barry Greene's most fully realized recording to date - a powerful tribute to the players who shaped his musical voice, including Pat Martino, Grant Green, Wes Montgomery, and Russell Malone. Spanning organ trio, modern ensemble, and solo guitar settings, the album reflects a lifetime of deep immersion in the jazz tradition, delivered with authority, swing, and an unmistakable personal voice.", so we read it on Origin Records. In addition to Greene, we hear Pat Bianchi on the B3 organ and drummer Ulysses Owens Jr. Other musicians in Greene's quintet are David Kikoski on piano, Steve Nelson on vibraphone and Marco Panascia on bass.

It swings, it grooves, it awakens the blues, it brings the memory of the heyday of the Hammond B3 to life - yes, the ensemble around guitarist Barry Greene unites all this on the current album. The dark, wafting sound of the Hammond organ unites with the bell-like crystal sound of the vibraphone and the brilliant string sound of the guitar, all this at the beginning of the album: "BACKTRACK" is reminiscent of Lonnie Smith, an American jazz organist who was also at home in Rhythm and Blues and Motown. He became known with the George Benson Quartet. No question, the guitar sound is the focus of the piece next to that of the organ. Not only the soloistic passages by Greene, but also by organist Pat Bianchi are a pleasure to listen to. It continues with a piece by Sam Jones called "UNIT 7", before Grant Greene's composition "Green Streets" can be heard. Grant Greene, like Barry Greene, was a guitarist who was published by Blue Note and also played with George Benson for a time.

We experience a lot of swing and rushing drums in the piece "Unit 7" as well as a filigree playing by guitarist Barry Greene, who is accompanied in this piece by the pianist of his band. This provides concise accents and also loses itself in lively keyboard escapades. We experience cascades of crystal-clear sound in the vibraphonist's playing. His playing makes one think of rushing white water in its flow of sound. By the way, the drummer opens Grant Greene's piece in an incredibly brilliant way. In addition, we listen to the restrained organist before Barry Greene catches us. We have to think of funk when the organist directs the music. Funky, funky is also the guitarist's motto in the course of the piece.

After "QUESTION AND ANSWER", composed by Pat Metheny, it is then "SOS" from the pen of Wes Montgomery. Greene does not copy Montgomery, but sets his own accents, also in a very fast string playing; apart from the fact that the instrumentation of the ensemble opens up a multitude of possibilities, one thinks of the solo of the vibraphonist, who creates rapids of sound, to put it in a picture. And the pianist also proves to be a source of bubbling sounds. Thus, Wes Montgomery with his specific approach on the guitar tends to take a back seat. We experience the lyrical side of jazz in the interpretation of "MY ONE AND ONLY LOVE". At times, one has the impression that Barry Greene is celebrating an etude of jazz in his solo performance.

"IN HER ROOM" is Barry Greene's only original composition recorded for the album. The melody of the play is a little reminiscent of "heartache" and Broadway shows, which are a little cheesy. What a contrast this is to "JINGLES" by Wes Montgomery. Barry Greene moves in his sequences in the footsteps of the grandee of guitar jazz. The piece is moving, has swing and also a pinch of funk. The tempo is fast, as is the finger playing of guitarist Barry Greene. The album concludes with "EL HOMBRE" by Pat Martino. This is the end of an album that once again gives a voice to the unforgotten masters from the history of jazz.

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