''Am I Blue'' is an album by American jazz guitarist
Grant Green
Grant Green (June 6, 1935 – January 31, 1979) was an American jazz guitarist and composer.
Recording prolifically for Blue Note Records as both leader and sideman, Green performed in the hard bop, soul jazz, bebop, and Latin-tinged idioms ...
featuring performances recorded in 1963 and released on the
Blue Note
In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...
label.
[Grant Green discography](_blank)
accessed September 17, 2010 The first two tracks had both been recorded by
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...
. “Sweet Slumber” was a 1940s hit for swing band leader
Lucky Millinder
Lucius Venable "Lucky" Millinder (August 8, 1910 – September 28, 1966) was an American swing and rhythm-and-blues bandleader. Although he could not read or write music, did not play an instrument and rarely sang, his showmanship and musical ...
. Green is heard in a quintet with tenor saxophonist
Joe Henderson, trumpeter
Johnny Coles
John Coles (July 3, 1926 – December 21, 1997) was an American jazz trumpeter.
Early life
Coles was born in Trenton, New Jersey on July 3, 1926. He grew up in Philadelphia and was self-taught on trumpet.
Later life and career
Coles spent his ...
, organist
Big John Patton and drummer
Ben Dixon.
Reception
The
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
review by
Scott Yanow awarded the album 3½ stars and stated "Although certainly listenable enough, this is one of Grant Green's lesser efforts from the 1960s".
[Yanow, S. ]Allmusic Review
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
accessed September 17, 2010
Track listing
# "
Am I Blue" (
Harry Akst
Harry Akst (August 15, 1894 – March 31, 1963)
- accessed November 19, 2011 was an American Grant Clarke
Grant Clarke (May 14, 1891, Akron, Ohio – May 16, 1931, California) was an American songwriter.
Clarke moved to New York City early in his career, where he worked as an actor and a staff writer for comedians. He began working on Tin Pan Alley, ...
) - 6:56
# "
Take These Chains from My Heart" (
Hy Heath,
Fred Rose) - 6:12
# "
I Wanna Be Loved
"I Wanna Be Loved" (from the 1933 version of the 1931 revue '' Billy Rose's Crazy Quilt'') is a popular song with music by Johnny Green and lyrics by Edward Heyman and Billy Rose, published in 1933.
Recorded versions
The song is a standard, wi ...
" (
Johnny Green,
Edward Heyman
Edward Heyman (March 14, 1907October 16, 1981) was an American lyricist and producer, best known for his lyrics to " Body and Soul," "When I Fall in Love," and " For Sentimental Reasons." He also contributed to a number of songs for films.
Biog ...
,
Billy Rose) - 7:39
# "
Sweet Slumber
"Sweet Slumber" is a 1943 song written by Lucky Millinder, Al J. Neiburg and Henri Woode William Henri Woode (September 25, 1909 – May 31, 1994) was an American composer, lyricist, arranger, and singer. His compositions include '' A Night at the ...
" (
Lucky Millinder
Lucius Venable "Lucky" Millinder (August 8, 1910 – September 28, 1966) was an American swing and rhythm-and-blues bandleader. Although he could not read or write music, did not play an instrument and rarely sang, his showmanship and musical ...
,
Al J. Neiburg
Allen J. Neiburg (November 22, 1902—July 12, 1978) was an American lyricist.
He was born on 22 November 1902 in St. Albans, Vermont and received his education at Boston University. He is known for writing lyrics for such songs as "I'm Confessi ...
,
Henri Woode William Henri Woode (September 25, 1909 – May 31, 1994) was an American composer, lyricist, arranger, and singer. His compositions include '' A Night at the Vanguard'', '' Sweet Slumber'', '' You Taught Me to Love Again'', and the jazz standard '' ...
) - 7:17
# "
For All We Know" (
J. Fred Coots
John Frederick Coots (May 2, 1897 – April 8, 1985) was an American songwriter. He composed over 700 popular songs and over a dozen Broadway shows. In 1934, Coots wrote the melody with his then chief collaborator, lyricist Haven Gillespie, for t ...
,
Sam M. Lewis
Sam M. Lewis (October 25, 1885 – November 22, 1959) was an American singer and lyricist.
Career
Lewis was born Samuel M. Levine in New York City, United States. He began his music career by singing in cafés throughout New York City, and be ...
) - 13:59
Personnel
*
Grant Green
Grant Green (June 6, 1935 – January 31, 1979) was an American jazz guitarist and composer.
Recording prolifically for Blue Note Records as both leader and sideman, Green performed in the hard bop, soul jazz, bebop, and Latin-tinged idioms ...
-
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
*
Johnny Coles
John Coles (July 3, 1926 – December 21, 1997) was an American jazz trumpeter.
Early life
Coles was born in Trenton, New Jersey on July 3, 1926. He grew up in Philadelphia and was self-taught on trumpet.
Later life and career
Coles spent his ...
-
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
*
Joe Henderson -
tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...
*
"Big" John Patton -
organ
*
Ben Dixon -
drums
References
{{Authority control
Blue Note Records albums
Grant Green albums
1964 albums
Albums produced by Alfred Lion
Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio