Green Is Beautiful: A Tribute To Grant Green featuring Eddie Roberts
October 1, 2016
New Orleans, LA @ Mardi Gras World - Bear Creek Bayou Music Festival - Ballroom stage (inside)

HiMD > WAV
Recorded by Bryan Belay

01. // Latona [Big John Patton]
02. ???
03. The Cantaloupe Woman [Ben Dixon]
04. Upshot [Grant Green] (with Skerik)
05. I Am Somebody [Arthur Snyder] (with Skerik)
06. Ease Back [The Meters] (with George Porter Jr.)

Eddie Roberts - guitar
Chris Stillwell - bass
Robert Walter - organ & keyboards
Alan Evans - drums

Guests:
Skerik - saxophone
George Porter Jr. - bass

Review by Scott Hopkins at MusicFestNews.com:
https://musicfestnews.com/2016/10/bear-creek-bayou-spectacular-music-careless-organization/

The most anticipated set of the weekend for me was Green is Beautiful: A Tribute to Grant Green featuring Eddie Roberts. Green, a spectacular Blue Note artists who didnâ€™t get the recognition that Wes Montgomery and Kenny Burrell did, clearly was a beacon for Roberts and for me. Roberts had put together a stellar quartet with Robert Walter on keyboards, Chris Stillwell on bass, and Alan Evans on drums.

It was so special. We think they began with â€œCease the Bombing,â€ then rolled right into a tune Green played with Big John Patton called â€œThe Turnaround.â€ Throughout, Walter was simply stunning on B3, and the rhythm section was perfect. They were having such a good time.

Roberts said, â€œOne of the first albums of Greenâ€™s I ever heard was His Majesty King Funk!â€ and from that 1965 album he played â€œThe Cantaloupe Woman,â€ a tune harkening back to Herbie Hancockâ€™s â€œCantaloupe Island.â€ Skerik came out and blew a couple of fabulous tunes (â€œUpshotâ€ and â€œI Am Somebodyâ€) in the Hank Mobley/Stanley Turrentine tradition. Then George Porter, Jr., helped out on â€œA Day in the Life.â€

At setâ€™s end, Roberts announced that they were heading to The Maple Leaf at 1 AM to play all night. I was crushed we couldnâ€™t make it. Roberts told me that he was â€œplanning on doing some jazzier sets in the future, hopefully late night Blue Note NYC among at others.â€ Donâ€™t worry, New Mastersounds fans, he can multitask!
