The Latin Bit

The Latin Bit
Studio album by
Grant Green
ReleasedMay 1963[1]
RecordedApril 26 & September 7, 1962
StudioVan Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
GenreLatin jazz
Length38:56 original LP
59:53 CD reissue
LabelBlue Note
BST 84111
ProducerAlfred Lion
Grant Green chronology
Born to Be Blue
(1962) 		The Latin Bit
(1963) 		Goin' West
(1962)

The Latin Bit is an album by American jazz guitarist Grant Green featuring performances recorded in 1962 and released on the Blue Note label.[2] It is a loose concept album inspired by Latin American music. It features tenor saxophonist Ike Quebec, pianists Sonny Clark and John Adriano Acea, bassist Wendell Marshall and percussionists Willie Bobo, Garvin Masseaux and “Patato” Valdes.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings[4]

The Allmusic review by Michael G. Nastos awarded the album 3½ stars and stated "This CD always yielded mixed results for staunch fans of Green, but a revisit shows it to be a credible effort, even if slightly flawed in part".[3]

Track listing

All compositions by Grant Green except where noted

  1. "Mambo Inn" (Mario Bauzá, Edgar Sampson, Bobby Woodlen) – 5:52
  2. "Bésame Mucho" (Consuelo Velázquez) – 7:12
  3. "Mama Inez" (L. Wolfe Gilbert, Eliseo Grenet) – 6:42
  4. "Brazil" (Ary Barroso) – 5:01
  5. "Tico Tico" (Zequinha de Abreu) – 7:46
  6. "My Little Suede Shoes" (Charlie Parker) – 6:23

Bonus track on CD reissue:

  2. "Blues for Juanita" – 7:06
  3. "Granada" (Agustín Lara) – 6:27
  4. "Hey There" (Richard Adler, Jerry Ross) – 7:24

Recorded on April 26 (tracks 1-7) and September 7 (tracks 8-9), 1962.

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for The Latin Bit
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[5] 186
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[6] 54

References

  1. ^ Billboard May 18, 1963
  2. ^ Grant Green discography accessed September 16, 2010
  3. ^ a b Nastos, M. G. Allmusic Review accessed September 16, 2010
  4. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 599. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
  5. ^ "Ultratop.be – Grant Green – The Latin Bit" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  6. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Grant Green – The Latin Bit" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 18, 2022.