Ok, I got a super-rare one here for your listening pleasure. Here we have a real soul-driven funky organ trio record done by Grant Green somewhere between his employment at Verve and A&M. This one sticks to a nice jazz form, rather than straying into the mindless noodling of the soul-funk jazz of his early 70's band. All players hand in a real solid effort, especially Big John Patton's treatment of the good ol Hammond B3, which is present here in a big way.
After leaving Blue Note, Grant Green recorded two albums for Verve in 1965 (one remains unreleased), then wasn’t heard from again until 1969. But somewhere in 1967, he teamed with former Lou Donaldson rhythm mates John Patton (organ) and Ben Dixon (drums) and recorded, "Iron City", his best ever organ-trio record.
Presumably recorded for then-thriving Prestige Records, "Iron City" was first issued in 1972 on Cobblestone Records and again in 1978 on Muse. Freed from the constraints of well-rehearsed Blue Note staidness, Green and company let loose here in a rip-roaring, mostly up-tempo program of solid winners.
"Iron City" is one of his catchiest funk pieces and Patton and Dixon are down, deep in the groove. Patton is especially muscular and memorable here and, overall, pulls off one the best performances of his career (acid jazzers could find plenty of meaty samples here too). "High Heeled Sneakers" and "Work Song" are the standard soul-jazz warhorses. But each gets thorough, no-holds-barred workouts from Green and crew.
The disc’s sound is pristine and really brings out Patton’s pedalwork and Dixon’s subtle technique more than the old records did. "Iron City" is, if not Green’s best organ-trio record, surely one of his last "great" recorded performances.
Link in the comments.
