His Majesty King Funk/Up With Donald Byrd

Performer: Grant Green
Artist: Harold Vick; Ron Carter; Larry Young; Kenny Burrell; Candido Camero; Herbie Hancock; Jimmy Heath; Stanley Turrentine
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: 2 LP's on 1 CD: HIS MAJESTY KING FUNK/UP WITH DONALD BYRD. Producer: Creed Taylor. Compilation producer: Michael Lang. Includes liner notes by Peter Leitch and Bill Milkowski. Digitally remastered by Gary J. Mayo (Polygram Studios). HIS MAJESTY KING FUNK: Personnel: Grant Green (guitar); Harold Vick (tenor saxophone, flute); Larry Young (organ); Ben Dixon (drums); Candido Camero (bongos, congas). Recorded in New York, New York on May 26, 1965. Originally released on Verve (8627). UP WITH DONALD BYRD: Personnel: Donald Byrd (trumpet); Claus Ogerman (conductor); The Donald Byrd Singers (vocals); Jimmy Heath, Stanley Turrentine (tenor saxophone); Herbie Hancock (piano); Kenny Burrell (guitar); Ron Carter, Bob Cranshaw (bass); Grady Tate (drums); Candido Camero (congas). Recorded at A & R Recording, New York, New York on November 2, 3 & 6, 1964 and at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on December 16, 1964. Originally released on Verve (8609). Personnel: Donald Byrd (trumpet); Grant Green (guitar); Kenny Burrell (guitar); Harold Vick (flute, tenor saxophone); Jimmy Heath, Stanley Turrentine (tenor saxophone); Herbie Hancock (piano); Larry Young (organ); Grady Tate, Ben Dixon (drums); Candido Camero (congas, bongos). Liner Note Authors: Peter Leitch; Bill Milkowski. Recording information: A&R Studios, New York, NY (11/02/1964-05/26/1965); Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (11/02/1964-05/26/1965). Photographers: Hugh Bell; Chuck Stewart. Arranger: Claus Ogerman. This special collection contains both the classic Grant Green album HIS MAJESTY KING FUNK and trumpeter Donald Byrd's UP WITH DONALD BYRD. Both are treasured recordings by two stellar artists who were at the head of their class in the mid '60s. Green's portion is a rousing quintet session that features the young organist Larry Young, underrated tenor man Harold Vick, renowned percussionist Candido Camero, and the groovy drummer Ben Dixon. As the title indicates, this is a delightfully funky session that features such danceable cuts as Green's "The Selma March," Dixon's solid "The Cantaloupe Woman," and the energetic "Daddy Grapes." Byrd's UP is an equally exciting, but more pop-oriented, session. Along with Byrd, Jimmy Heath, Kenny Burrell, a young Herbie Hancock, Bob Cranshaw, and Grady Tate is a group of unidentified vocalists that contribute both lyrics and melodic backgrounds to mixed effect. Notable are the performances of Hancock's "Blind Man, Blind Man" and "Cantaloupe Island" and John Lee Hooker's "Boom, Boom." Also included are some eye-brow-raising readings of such pop hits as "House Of The Rising Sun" and "See, See, Rider." In all, both collections fill a solid spot in the catalog of two stellar artists.

St. Louis-born guitarist Grant Green was a giant of what came to be known as soul-jazz. His singular style incorporated the influences of Gospel, blues, and R&B, and defined a unique post-bop language for electric guitar. His classic early-1960s Blue Note recordings are high-water marks of both the soul-jazz sound and of jazz guitar in general. Drug abuse sadly hampered his later career; he died in 1979, but his son, the jazz guitarist Grant Green, Jr., continues his legacy.

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