Goin' West
Encyclopedia
Goin' West is an album by American jazz guitarist Grant Green
featuring performances recorded in 1962 but not released on the Blue Note
label until 1969. It is a loose concept album
based around Western music
.
The All About Jazz
review by Colin Fleming stated "Goin' West , though nominally a country and western recording, moves us into the realm of folk music—bluegrass folk music and clippity-clappity cowboy tunes... Having said that, it would be hard to imagine Goin' West being a greater delight, a straight forward, unencumbered jazz delight—finesse jazz is a readily applicable moniker... Goin' West is an intriguing release nonetheless".
Grant Green
Grant Green was a jazz guitarist and composer....
featuring performances recorded in 1962 but not released on the Blue Note
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
label until 1969. It is a loose concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
based around Western music
Western music (North America)
Western music originated as a form of American folk music. Originally composed by and about the people who settled and worked throughout the Western United States and Western Canada. Directly related musically to old English, Scottish, and Irish folk ballads, Western music celebrates the life of...
.
Reception
The Allmusic review by Michael Erlewine awarded the album 3 stars and stated "Only Green could carry this off, but he is the man when it comes to standards".The All About Jazz
All About Jazz
All About Jazz is a leading jazz music website for enthusiasts and industry professionals based in Philadelphia in the United States.Founded by Michael Ricci in 1995, the Web-Site is maintained by a volunteer staff of writers, editors, and musicians, and provides coverage of all genres of jazz from...
review by Colin Fleming stated "Goin' West , though nominally a country and western recording, moves us into the realm of folk music—bluegrass folk music and clippity-clappity cowboy tunes... Having said that, it would be hard to imagine Goin' West being a greater delight, a straight forward, unencumbered jazz delight—finesse jazz is a readily applicable moniker... Goin' West is an intriguing release nonetheless".
Track listing
- "On Top of Old Smokey" (Traditional) – 7:04
- "I Can't Stop Loving YouI Can't Stop Loving You"I Can't Stop Loving You" is a popular song written and composed by country singer, songwriter and musician Don Gibson, who first recorded it on December 30, 1957, for RCA Victor Records...
" (Don GibsonDon GibsonDonald Eugene "Don" Gibson was an American songwriter and country musician. A Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Gibson penned such country standards as "Sweet Dreams" and "I Can't Stop Loving You", and enjoyed a string of country hits from 1957 into the early 1970s.-Biography:Don Gibson was...
) – 3:26 - "Wagon Wheels" (Peter DeRosePeter DeRosePeter DeRose was an American Hall of Fame composer of jazz and pop music during the Tin Pan Alley era.-Biography:DeRose was born in New York City and as a boy exhibited a gift for things musical...
, Billy HillBilly Hill (songwriter)Billy Hill was an American songwriter, violinst, and pianist who found fame writing Western songs such as "They Cut Down the Old Pine Tree", "The Last Roundup", "Wagon Wheels", and "Empty Saddles"...
) – 6:22 - "Red River ValleyRed River Valley (song)Red River Valley is a folk song and cowboy music standard of controversial origins that has gone by different names—e.g., "Cowboy Love Song", "Bright Sherman Valley", "Bright Laurel Valley", "In the Bright Mohawk Valley", and "Bright Little Valley"—depending on where it has been sung. ...
" (Traditional) – 6:05 - "Tumbling TumbleweedsTumbling Tumbleweeds"Tumbling Tumbleweeds" is a song composed by Bob Nolan, one of the founding members of the Sons of the Pioneers. Although one of the most famous songs associated with cowboys, the song was composed by Nolan back in the 1930s while he was working as a caddy and living in Los Angeles...
" (Bob NolanBob NolanBob Nolan was a Canadian-born American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a founding member of the Sons of the Pioneers, and composer of numerous Country music and Western music songs, including the standards "Cool Water" and "Tumbling Tumbleweeds." He is generally regarded as one of the...
) – 11:05- Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on November 30, 1962
Personnel
- Grant GreenGrant GreenGrant Green was a jazz guitarist and composer....
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Herbie HancockHerbie HancockHerbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
- pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Reggie WorkmanReggie WorkmanReginald "Reggie" Workman is an American avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassist, recognized for his work with both John Coltrane and Art Blakey....
- bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - Billy HigginsBilly HigginsBilly Higgins was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop.Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, beginning in 1958...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....