The Agile Up-Tempo Soloing of Grant Green - "Airegin"
by Grant Green, as heard on The Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark (1997, Blue Note Records)
This solo highlights Green's navigation of minor ii-V's with the harmonic minor scale. As the majority of stable tonal centers are in minor, there is also some usage of melodic minor harmony, as well as a good deal of blues language (see mm. 39-45 and mm. 75-78). Noticeably, the quickly-moving B sections of the tune are generally well-separated, with the solo harmony moving chord-by-chord along with the changing key centers (as opposed to featuring eighth note lines that snake through the changes). The B section material also adheres tightly to major scale harmony. Green uses a limited number of melodic devices to navigate the changes of the solo, occasionally transposed to match a new chord (the device used at m. 20 over an Eb7b9 is transposed, with slight alteration, to Ab in m. 21; compare mm. 33-34 to mm. 69-70).
Several spots in the solo use similar melodic contour for specific spots in the changes: note in particular the similarities in the arc-shaped lines at letters B, D, H, and L. Aside from myriad Parker quotes, there is also an obvious Coltrane quote at letter I, with the melody to "Mr. P.C." Green uses a good deal of variety in his rhythms: quarter note lines are frequently juxtaposed with eighth note lines, and special attention is paid to varying the beginnings of phrases--where one phrase begins on a downbeat, the next will begin on an upbeat, or will quickly shift from the downbeat into a syncopated figure. Several of these syncopated rhythms appear early in the solo: mm. 9-10, m. 12, m. 19. Repeated half and quarter note figures are frequently used as strong statements of melody, as well as repetitions of specific rhythmic figures (mm. 95-98). In reference to his distinct rhythmic variety, observe the heavily syncopated figure at mm. 102-104. Green's development of his solo occurs in both rhythm and range: toward the 2/3 mark of his solo, we see increasing usage of downbeat-centric half and quarter note lines, at letter I, culminating in the highest-range figures at letter K, where he also takes the opportunity to repeat this figure several times. Interestingly, in the latter portion of Green's solo, he shifts away from over-the-bar phrasing, taking greater advantage of formal boundaries as devices to enhance the clarity of his lines.
Typical of his style, Green's tone is clear and cutting, with a very small amount of distortion on his tone from overdriving his amplifier. His articulation is of particular note: to provide contrast during his longer quarter note-laden phrases, he applies alternating long-short values to his notes. Throughout, probably due to his picking technique, his notes are separated, with the only legato phrases occurring on his triplet figures.
Also, a brief note on the album title, as it appears in the listening link: this take of "Airegin" was originally recorded for a Japan-only album entitled Nigeria, but the tune was included on a later Blue Note compilation entitled The Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark, along with several other tunes and a couple of alternate takes.
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