beer garden moment

I took this photo during the shooting of the documentary in 1995. Grant Jr., not to be confused with his guitar playing brother who plays professionally under that name, is sitting in Molly's Tavern, a St. Louis beer garden, with Virgil and Ollie Matheus. The latter owned the short-lived Holy Barbarian nightclub in St. Louis where Grant's father performed before being discovered in nearby East St. Louis, Illinois, by Blue Note Records saxophonist Lou Donaldson. Concert promoter Jorge Martinez, organist Terry Williams and drummer Kenny Rice, saxophonist Chuck Tillman and John Matheus were also present. It wasn't until years later that I learned how the German presence in America by the middle of the 19th century probably contributed to the proliferation of beer gardens in this country. I look forward to discussing interactions between African Americans and Germans in the urban space next month when I start teaching "The Nineteenth Century City" for the third time at the University of Alabama. Roll Tide!

one of my all time favorite Grant tunes

"Empanada" is hands-down one of my all-time favorite Grant Green tunes. It was recorded on "Easy," his last album. If you look at his eyes on the inside sleeve, you can see the fatigue in his body. It hardly shows up in his playing in this energetic tune.

I love, among things, the sounds of Karen Joseph, flutist and piccolo player on this album, which was released in 1978 by Versatile. Jorge Dalto's performance on piano is also wonderful.

P.S. This song is one of George Benson's favorite Grant Green tunes, too. It is also on heavy rotation as editing on the documentary continues.

all things green

Editing on the documentary continues. I also got the domain name for the website today. It's been a 20-plus year journey. I am trying to get as much done now as the semester and other duties call. Meanwhile, here is a photo of the first two okra growing in our garden. When a dear friend saw this photo of it, she remarked, "Guess your last name ain't 'Green' for nothing." I recalled stories of how Grant Green drove a green Cadillac, wore green suits and lived on Greenlawn in Detroit. I hadn't thought about that kind of serendipity in a while. It was nice to be reminded. Onward.