Grant Green - Matador (1964)

When the Blue Note catalogue was reissued on CD in the late '80s, I went on a buying spree, grabbing every title I could find. Among the first stack of discs I brought home was Grant Green's third album 'Grandstand' (1961), one of the finest hard-bop guitar showcases ever recorded. It gave me an unforgettable buzz, even though I had heard tracks from it in the '70s.

This 1964 session, released only in Japan in 1979 following Green's death the same year, is just as solid. Brilliantly backed by McCoy Tyner, Bob Cranshaw and Elvin Jones, the guitarist takes you on a mesmerising modal journey that recalls Miles Davis's 'Kind of Blue'... I could listen to this kind of infectiously vibrant straightahead jazz the whole day!