A new album, Electric Verdeland, Vol. 1, is due next month from Grassy Knoll, aka Bob Green. I was asked to say a few words about his music, which I’ve been listening to since his early-1990s recordings for Nettwerk, Antilles/Verve, and Emigre. The full text of his press materials reside at his newly updated thegrassyknollmusic.com site.
Here’s what I wrote:
“There’s a difference between someone having the same records as you and liking them for the same reasons. Back when those records by The Grassy Knoll first came out, it was like someone was hitting pause in the middle of some of the greatest moments in electric-era jazz and just reveling in them for the sheer sonic joy of it. So many musicians and listeners got hooked on the ego inherent in jazz fusion, but Bob Green has always been more focused on its meditative, introspective potential. He has little interest in bravado and showiness; he is more drawn to concentrated, mantra-like electronic explorations, sometimes venturing into ambient territory. At other times, he has formulated proto-mashups, combining familiar elements ”“ he called them ”˜adverse ideas’ when I interviewed him ”“ into unexpected, ecstatic congruences.”
Check out his music, past and present, at thegrassyknollmusic.com.
It’s been a while since your post, but I want to let you know that I love The Grassy Knoll, as well, since the first Nettwerk release! Thanks for giving them attention and for really GETTING that sound!