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Don't be scared off by the His Majesty King Funk title; this is not Green's later commercial stuff. This is excellent Grant Green with Larry Young on organ, Harold Vick on sax, Ben Dixon on drums, and Candido Camero on conga -- essentially a classic four-piece. And this is soul-jazz with a deep groove. - Michael Erlewine/AMG

”

It was often very frustrating for producers at the Blue Note label to have their superstars bought up by other recording companies. That's precisely what happened to the greatest guitarists of the Sixties - Wes Montgomery and Grant Green, who is now heard on the present LP. Neither Montgomery or Green was able to enjoy big money, however, for they both died young. Verve's producer Creed Taylor took care to give Green a more up-to-date musical framework, ensured that he had plenty of time in the studio and that the stereo recording technology was the best of its day. The two themes on the A side are developed tranquilly and provide a basis for long improvisations by Green, but also by Larry Young.
Here, in this soundworld, Young at last manages to throw off his 'Jimmy Smith sound' and develops his own colouring. The tenor sax player Harold Vick is heard only in a few numbers: in particular he lends a new sound colouring to "The Cantaloupe Woman" where the interplay between wind and strings is of constant interest.
Once an 'insider tip', Grant Green has now become a 'disco tip', and the new generation is up and dancing to "His Majesty King Funk". It is to be hoped that not only DJs will discover this super production from 1965, but also jazz-lovers of the year 2009 and the future.




Track listing

Side A:

"The Selma March" 08:26
"Willow Weep for Me" 10:02

Side B:

"The Cantaloupe Woman" 04:56
"That Lucky Old Sun" 05:21
"Daddy Grapes" 04:35

Personnel

Grant Green - guitar
Harold Vick - tenor saxophone
Larry Young - organ
Ben Dixon - drums
Candido Camero - bongo and conga

Recording: May 1965 at Van Gelder’s Studios, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.,
by Rudy Van Gelder
Production: Creed Taylor