Jazz for aficionados

Hampton Hawes music was like a breath of fresh air; when I say that, I mean no stereotypical cliches.

A ten year prison sentence for a person who's on a self destruct mission, doesn't seem like a right bright thing to do by the judge, but that's the way it was. Since we have an epidemic at the moment, if they keep that up they are going to have to build a lot more prisons.

Heroin addiction is not a musician exclusive thing, and from what I've seen up close and personal, music has nothing to do with it. Contrary to popular belief, it never helped their performance, nor did they believe it would. They used heroin for the same reason all the rest of the addicts used heroin; to feel good. That is until "Ma jones comin down on me".

Enjoy the music.

O-10, I realize that I haven't earned the classification of "aficionado" (although I seem to have graduated to "connoisseur"), but since this is an open forum I will give this a stab eventhough you ask the question of your fellow "aficionados".  Moreover, so far as I can tell, only one poster has expressed an opinion on the matter that you have not dismissed completely.  So, your use of the plural with "aficionados" must mean that you are being inclusive.  You obviously don't care about the calls from other participants here to drop this Grant Green business and at some point you are going to have to understand that you set yourself up for disagreement and worse.  

Several possible reasons have been given for why those recordings were not released. You have dismissed every single reason given as 100%, even 200%, wrong.  Not only does claiming someone is wrong suggest that you know what the correct answer is, but you have failed to give your own (presumably correct) answer.  So, what is it?  Why don't we start there.  My contention is simple, the records were released as dictated by Grant's contract.  So, anything else, right or wrong, humane or not, is moot.  You admit a bias (good!); so, it seems to me that rather than cherry picking the recordings that YOU feel "set the mood" for the time, shouldn't those recordings be picked by others?  

"Sketches Of Spain": with everything that was going on in jazz in 1961, "setting the mood"?  Seriously?  

While Hampton Hawes was in prison, he met "Stymie" of Our Gang fame, he was in for drug addiction. Sonny Clark ODed while he was in prison; what a coincident that we are talking about "Sonny Clark", and I'm reading about Hampton Hawes stay in prison, who is reading where Sonny Clark done did it one time too many.

I was moved by the pardon JFK gave him; a humanitarian in the White House, that's hard to believe. Hampton was back out on the streets in LA before he realized he wasn't dreaming.

He was busted in order to get suppliers in LA, but when he didn't rat, they gave him ten years; "This'll teach you to squeal if we want you to squeal".

He has a really good autobiography that I will have to get, "Raise Up Off Me", and he had a successful career till he died. His story had a good ending; I'll have to get some of his records.



Enjoy the music.

Gee, thanks a lot Rok, now you really done did it; or is it did done it? 🙄

Wonderful player with a distinctive feel.  Great clips.

I am not quite certain, but Ammons, Hawes, Dupree and some other guys were in the prison at the same time, maybe even in the sam prison, and I have read somewhere (think it was Dupree who said it) that his best band was in fact, the prison bend. That might be a black humor joke, but could be true...
As for Orpheus's quest, we cant know for sure, so what is the point of guessing? Green was not the only guy who had unissued material.
I wrote before about Bobby Hutcherson, and his album 'The Kicker' made with same line up that made Green's 'Idle Moments'. Both albums were made within days,in 1963. 'The Kicker' remained on shelf for years.

https://youtu.be/kv8I3QzIqQc?list=PLA4B6B56EDBBAC42F

Maybe we should post the albums that were not published at the time when they were recorded? I am sure that from todays perspective we could find many good ones, and we would continue to wonder why they were never released, but like I said, until we find the way to know for sure, its quite pointless,imho