This week on Night Lights it's "Ain't He Funky Now: Grant Green in the Early 1970s." In 1969 guitarist Grant Green, who had been sidelined for several years by drug problems, returned to Blue Note Records and the jazz scene. The albums he made for Blue Note in this period reflected the influence of contemporary R & B, with Green covering artists such as James Brown and the Isley Brothers. We'll hear his interpretations of their tunes, in addition to the radio hit "Cease the Bombing" and an extended workout of Herbie Hancock's "Maiden Voyage." The music Green made during this era would enjoy a revival with acid-jazz and house-music enthusiasts in the late 1980s and early 1990s; it remains popular with younger listeners today, and Blue Note has released three new compilatons from which this program is drawn.

"Ain't He Funky Now" airs at 11:05 this Saturday evening on WFIU. For more information about the life and music of Grant Green, you can visit The Green Room (http://ophira.com/grantgreen/) and Grant Green (http://website.lineone.net/~johnharris/grant_green.htm).