"Falling in Love with Love" solo by Grant Green
by Grant Green, as heard on Volume 4 of the Original Jazz Masters (1995, DA Music Records) - Read more about Grant Green here
For anyone looking for a jump start into jazz and bop, I'd be hard-pressed to recommend a better starting point than this wonderful Grant Green solo on a classic tune, the Rodgers/Hart melody "Falling in Love With Love." My favorite aspect of Green's playing, aside from his beautifully musical touch, is his keen grasp of the bebop language. In any of his solos, you are sure to find distinctly idiomatic bebop lines and phrases, the majority of which can easily be moved from key to key with a bit of practice. There are so many examples here that it would be redundant to list them individually, but if you're looking for licks to add to your repertoire, keep an eye on what's happening during dominant-tonic movements (here, primarily B7-Emaj7).
Part of Green's sensibility also includes his setup to his "out" licks. Check out bars 105-106: Green sets up a small four-note phrase at 105, then raises it a half step in 106. He then uses that same device as a vehicle to set up the two-bar phrase at 109-110, which he lowers a half step in the ii-V turnaround at 111-112. Finally, take note of the final two bars of the solo: over the usual I-VI-ii-V turnaround, Green uses simple arpeggiated triads to imply Tadd Dameron's "Lady Bird" changes: I-bIII-bVI-bII (E, C, G, F).
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