Grant Green's Idle Moments - Recommendations for Similar Albums*

I'm sure this has been discussed here many times. Great album. I'm not real familiar with Grant Green.
Does anybody have any recommendations for jazz albums that are similar to this? Or other Grant Green albums? Thanks.

 

I liked him even when he was working hard.

 

I haven't heard Idle Moments, but I highly recommend Grant Green, The Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark on Blue Note. Great band consisting of Green, Clark, the nearly forgotten (it seems) Sam Jones on bass and either Art Blakey or Louis Hayes on drums.

 

Idle Moments is great. It isn't a Grant Green album but Blue and Sentimental by Ike Quebec features Green and has that same laidback late-night vibe. A much later Blue Note in same mode is View From The Inside by Bobby Hutcherson. Green and Hutcherson are both on Search For The New Land by Lee Morgan. The long title track is epic is in the Idle Moments groove. Great lp.

 

Grant's "Feelin' the Spirit" and "Street Of Dreams" have a somewhat similar vibe. You can't really go wrong with any of his early Blue Note titles, but most of the others are more uptempo.

 

Grant Green's 1964 album Solid is an absolute must! How it went unreleased until 1979 is beyond me. Like Idle Moments, it also features Joe Henderson on tenor, with James Spaulding on alto, and the killer rhythm-section of McCoy Tyner, Bob Cranshaw, and Elvin Jones. Here's the opening cut...

 

Yeah any Grant Green with piano as opposed to Organ or Electric Keys should do it for you. There aren't really many other guitarists that made similar sounding albums to Idle Moments back in the day. Possibly look for horn players from the time for similar vibes. Blue And Sentimental is a good recommendation or even Stanley Turrentines ZT's Blues.

 

As mentioned above, Ike Quebec's 'Blue and Sentimental' and Lee Morgan's 'Search For The New Land' are both sublime records that feature GG.

'Solid', 'Street of Dreams' & 'Green Street' are superb.

 

It's not on Blue Note but The Wonderful World of Jazz by Milt Jackson has a 15 minute version of Body and Soul that features Jim Hall and Paul Gonsalves that is very much in the Idle Moments (the track itself) groove. Spectacular playing by all. Eric Dolphy is on several of the other tracks. The lp is an overlooked classic in my book.

 

Bobby Hutcherson's The Kicker album has essentially the same personnel and was recorded just a couple of weeks after Idle Moments. Green is featured on 3 tracks, but the rest of the band plays on all 6, and is the band on Idle Moments.

Green's album Matador came out in '64, and includes his take on "My Favorite Things", which Coltrane made famous previously. I like Green's guitar take on this, and it also features McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones, from Coltrane's classic quarter.

 

You beat me to the recommendation for Bobby Hutcherson's "The Kicker". That and Idle Moments are both easily in my top 3 Blue Note titles of all time. I was really REALLY hoping that Music Matters would give The Kicker its first vinyl issue, and I campaigned for it, but to no avail.

Also interesting about the two records you recommended; both feature renditions of "Bedouin", though I prefer Hutcherson's version a good bit more.
Matador is crucial, regardless.

 

Search is the one on par with Idle Moments. Emperian Isles by Herbie Hancock as well.

Blues for Lou is also a decent session with GG. Mellow but with John Patton on organ instead of a straight piano date.

 

Yes, if you enjoy organ as much as piano then the field really opens up. Talkin About, Street Of Dreams, I Want To Hold Your Hand, Into Something, Let Em Roll, Iron City.