top of page

Spin #143 : Grant Green : Nigeria

Writer's picture: R’nR With RyloR’nR With Rylo



SUNDAY DROP - SPIN # 143 FROM THE R'NR WITH RYLO RECORD COLLECTION


I was going to write our Sunday Spin last week and that would have made 'Nigeria' by Grant Green the last drop of the year 2024, however I ran out of time to write it. The Rylo family had a busy Christmas period and we didn't get a chance to spin much music. I guess we were having too much fun catching up with family, friends and spending time outside in the sunshine. The pool has been getting a work out lately, providing a lot of R'nR. Our children have been getting confident in the water with their floats on and now play for a long time in the water, unafraid (except of being afraid of some wasps that keep flying about).


They also got bikes from their mum and dad for Christmas which they've been practicing riding around the backyard. I have to say that our 3 year old daughter is a little missile and has collected a few things in her way while she learns. Santa was very kind to them this year and seeing their smiling faces is always a nice moment as a parent. They did get a bit overwhelmed by how many gifts they received and now have a problem of finding space to put everything in their rooms. I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas break and brought in the new year sensibly. I don't really have a resolution each year and I often joke around that my yearly goal is - Don't Die. I guess that you can only fail that resolution once. If I had to choose a real one, it would be to improve or better our situation as a family each year.


For the first album of 2025, I present to you all - Grant Green's 'Nigeria'. A Blue Note album from their Tone Poet collection. They tend to put a bit more love into the packaging on these editions (gatefold sleeve with photographs of the players). I've been listening to a couple of Jazz albums lately and was able to add Art Blakey's, 'A Night In Tunisia' over the Christmas period (thanks Night Kat Kiz). There is so many great albums and if you ever want to calm your mind, then you need to soak up some Sonny Clark on piano, Sam Jones on bass, Art Blakey on drums and of course, Grant Green on guitar. I was able to watch some cricket over the last few weeks with the little ones and also got a bit of reading time in. Can you believe that these artist's recorded so many albums that they didn't even mind if one wasn't released for a number of years. 'Nigeria' was recorded in 1962 and wasn't released until 1980.



SIDE A - AIREGIN / IT AIN'T NECESSARILY SO

SIDE B -  I CONCENTRATE ON YOU/ THE THINGS WE DID LAST SUMMER / THE SONG IS YOU


Green would pass away a year before this album was released by Blue Note, at the age of 43. You can hear the beautiful time keeping by all the musicians and such a rarity for a jazz album of this era, there isn't any horn section (say Lee Morgan or Wayne Shorter for example). Green has full command when he begins playing and interacting with Blakey's drums and Clark's piano. The better the speakers or headphones, the better this one is going to sound. It sounds crisp and impeccably pressed by Blue Note. The opening number is a Sonny Rollins composition and comes in at 7minutes 32 seconds. Looking at the five tracks on the back of the jacket, there isn't an original composition from any member of the quartet. That doesn't matter though and every time a jazz musician plays someone else's piece, they truly make it their own. I was listening to a Green album (the name slips my mind) and it has The Beatles song 'A Day in the Life' on it. I think the album is called, 'Green Is Beautiful'.


This album is also a winner when it comes to doing housework. I placed this on the turntable and turned up the volume so we could all hear it from any room in the house. Before we all knew it, the house was looking shiny! I'll have to have a look and see if this lineup played together on any other album. I don't think Blakey and Green ended up playing together again sadly. An album that I still need to add to the R'nR with Rylo collection is his 1971 release, 'Visions'. If you enjoy 'Nigeria' and you are looking to expand on your Green listening experience, you can't go wrong with his albums, 'Green Street' and 'Idle Moments'.


The littlest Rylo wasn't feeling the greatest this week and I can always tell because she wants to hug Daddy (and probably give me her germs!). Usually she is a Mummy's girl, except for when she feels crappy. We hugged and spun some jazz albums to feel better. Nothing too instrumentally extravagant, like McCoy Tyner's 'Sahara' for example. I do like that album by Tyner and you'll need to make sure you are in the right headspace otherwise you'll feel overwhelmed with the amount of instruments coming through your speaker. She really enjoyed the guitar playing of Green and probably the piano playing of Clark mostly. I enjoyed the hugs but don't like it when she isn't feeling herself. Considering her like for guitar and piano, I might show her some Kenny Burrell, Count Basie, Thelonious Monk and John Scofield next.


Enjoy the first weekend of the year 2025 with some records and let us know what your favourite releases of last year were. I had a couple of albums as my favourite releases:


  • In Hearts Wake - 'Incarnation'

  • Marilyn Manson - 'One Assassination Under God'

  • Y$ - 'Vultures 1'

  • Kublai Khan TX - 'Exhibition of Prowess'

  • Kacey Musgraves - 'Deeper Well'

  • Sum 41 - 'Heaven x Hell'

  • The Ghost Inside - 'Searching for Solace'

  • King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - 'Flight b741'

  • Blood Incantation - 'Absolute Elsewhere'

  • Knocked Loose - 'You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To'

  • Judas Priest - 'Invincible Shield'

  • Dua Lipa - 'Radical Optimism'

  • Kerry King - 'From Hell I Rise'

  • Pearl Jam - 'Dark Matter'

  • Ernest - 'Nashville, Tennessee'

  • Luke Combs - 'Fathers & Sons'

  • Opeth - 'The Last Will and Testament'

  • Clairo - 'Charm'

  • Beyonce - 'Cowboy Carter Act II'

  • Katy Perry - '143'

  • Eminem - 'The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace)'


If you are having trouble finding an album to spin this weekend (or stream) why don't you give one of those albums a try and let me know what you think. I'll have to listen to a few more albums on the trip to work but I've been getting into a lot of podcasts lately too. What podcasts would you recommend for someone that drives between 4-4.5 hours per day?


Thanks for joining us this week for our Sunday drop of 'Nigeria' by Grant Green and I hope that you feel rested after spinning this one. I know that I sure do and now feel ready for another week of work tomorrow. Hug your loved ones and don't forget to do one thing for someone else each day and one thing for yourself too. I've now got my bike all cleaned up with WD-40 and ready to ride around the lake with the kids. Don't become a mindless zombie and make sure that you get out and enjoy some sunshine. Take care R'nR family.


Until our next Spin.....




Recent Posts

See All

Comentarios

Obtuvo 0 de 5 estrellas.
Aún no hay calificaciones

Agrega una calificación
bottom of page