I'm a Mae, both of my grandmothers are my Mae's, and several of my 10 aunts. This book made me feel part of an even larger legacy of Black women than just the ones in my family. I have a niece on the way and she's going to be a Mae. I'm handing this book down to her to help her out just like its helped me through college (The University of Pennsylvania)...where there weren't too many black women and especially not alot of "Mae's."

Thanks, Sharony ;-)

This book makes you think of home, family, comfort, etc... The stories are warm and heartfelt. You can just open it and read a story and feel better, or just relate to that particular Mae. The art is wonderful also.

Cuttin' the Rug Under the Moonlit Sky by Sharony Andrews Green is a joy to read and to view. Ms. Green captures the dialect that she heard as a child, the women who touched her life, and the feelings of hope, joy, renewal, and dispair that are so very universal. Each story stands by itself as a tribute or a lesson to anyone wise enough to take the time to read it. Whether one be rich or poor, young or old, black, white red, or blue, whether one hails from city or most rural country, these are stories and people that you will recognize. Ms. Green has discovered the voices of the common and the eccentric, with equal ease and style. Her folk art alone makes the book worth the purchase. It is a great gift for a thoughtful person, and just as wonderful to keep in your own library.

Grant Green was one of the finest jazz guitarists of the 1960's, a versatile player schooled in bebop who became greatly in demand for hard bop, soul jazz and funk dates; he recorded dozens of dates for the Blue Note label in the 60's, both as a leader and as a prolific sideman. After largely switching to r&b/funk by the end of the decade, his star faded. Heroin weakened his health and Green ended up dying of a heart attack in 1978 when he was 43. Sharony Andrews Green, the guitarist's daughter-in-law for a time in the 1990's, has put together the first book ever on Grant Green, a colorful biography that is quite definitive. She interviewed many of Green's relatives, friends, associates and fellow musicians. Her often conversational style is quite appealing and she tells stories from several different angles. One learns not only about Grant Green's music but the many contradictions in his religious beliefs, habits and personal life. Green comes across as a bit inconsistent in spots partly because he is seen in this biography as being many different people, depending on who is doing the reminiscing. There are some minor faults with some misunderstood names and too many pages of "Selected Reviews" at the end of the book by Tobias Jundt of Switzerland (these should not have been included at all). But there is also a complete discography, lots of new information about the guitarist's life and Sharony Green expertly separates facts from fiction, telling us more than we ever knew before about the great guitarist. A great book! One looks forward to Sharony Andrews Green's future projects.

"I have been listening to jazz for years. Finally, not only a woman, but a black woman writing about jazz! This is a highly personal look at one hell of a player who never got his props. That a newcomer to the music - with credentials to spare as a journalist - took on the challenge of telling his story is admirable. Even courageous given her close ties to the subject and the obvious need to be objective. She succeeds more often than not. Her voice is a fresh one. Rare is that we get a document that refuses to overintellectualize a music that is, at its core, from the heart of a people - black people. The ones who don't get it are likely wanna-be guitarists hoping Ms. Green had given them the low-down on Grant's technique. This is not Grant Green 101, fellas. You have to get that for yourselves.

I've been a record reviewer, feature writer, disc jockey and a professional guitarist for over 42 years and I'm probably the biggest Grant Green fan in the world! For years, I tried to gather any information that I could to learn more about one of my idols to very little avail. Alas, my forty year wiat is over! I have to take umberage with some of the negative comments that I've read about this book at Amazon, which compelled me to comment. I felt very comfortable with Ms. Green's writing style and her telling of the Grant Green story. If you are a diehard jazz fan and especially a Grant Green one then this book would be welcomed with open arms even if it were loaded with faults, which it is not! The only information available for years about this amazing artist were in the liner notes of his albums and a few, very few articles in jazz or guitar periodicals. Even if you are not a big fan of Grant Green's, this book gives you great insight in, not only the man but the period in which jazz truly excelled as America's Art Form, the 50's and 60's. True, there is a lot of text about heroin and his addiction but one has to realize that the role models for Green and other artists of his period were similarly involved and sadly suffered the same fate. All Ms. Green does in her book is tell his story the way she uncovered it, warts and all! She's right on in stating "Redicovering The Forgotten Genius Of Jazz Guitar" and she eloquently leads the way to this rediscovery in her book! Once read, not only will you be a Grant Green fan but a Sharony Andrews Green fan as well.