Johnny Griffin Juste Amis (live Montreal ’87)

One of the all-time great tenor saxophonists, Johnny Griffin will go down in the annals of jazz as a performer easily able to negotiate the tricky harmonic changes and swift tempos of modern music. He'll also be remembered as a player who could masterfully interpret tender ballads, rivaling Ben Webster in that regard.
Clémentine is a French singer and songwriter based in Japan. In 1988 released her first single, "Absolument Jazz" with CBS France. Signed a contract with Sony Music Entertainment Japan in 1990, and released many singles and albums.
Recorded at Gema Studio in Barcelona, October 29/30, 1987 and at Family Sound Studio in Paris, December 13/14, 1987.

A Blowin' Session is one of the greatest hard bop jam sessions ever recorded; it is filled with infectious passion and camaraderie. It's also the only time tenor saxophonists Johnny Griffin and John Coltrane would play together on record. Initially Coltrane wasn't scheduled to be on this date, but Griffin saw him on his way to Rudy Van Gelder's studio and asked him to join the remaining musicians, third tenor Hank Mobley, trumpeter Lee Morgan, pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Art Blakey. These musicians were all associates within the same East Coast hard bop scene of the time; they came from the Jazz Messengers and Miles Davis' quintet, and many had played with Dizzy Gillespie's big band…

Johnny Griffin recorded this studio album during his first visit to the United States in 15 years. Accompanied by a very supportive trio (pianist Ronnie Mathews, bassist Ray Drummond and drummer Keith Copeland), the great tenor is in frequently exuberant form on such tunes as "Autumn Leaves," his own "A Monk's Dream" and the funky "The Way It Is." Long one of the underrated masters, Johnny Griffin is heard at the peak of his powers on this modern bop session.

When Johnny Griffin and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis entered a New York studio with producer Orrin Keepnews on May 3, 1962, they did some things that were unusual for the two-tenor team. They played mostly ballads, they didn't engage in any tenor battles and - most surprising of all - they didn't perform together on any of the tunes. Griffin was featured on four songs, Davis on another four. The same rhythm section - Horace Parlan, bassist Buddy Catlett and drummer Art Taylor - was always present, but Parlan played piano on the songs featuring Griffin and celeste on the songs featuring Davis. For whatever reason, the performances remained in the can for 42 years; they weren't even mastered until 1966, and they finally saw the light of day when Fantasy released Pisces in 2004…

Many straight-ahead bop musicians would never consider recording traditional folk songs from the British Isles, but that's exactly what Johnny Griffin does on The Kerry Dancers and Other Swinging Folk - and this Orrin Keepnews-produced album just happens to be one of his best releases of the 1960s. Joined by pianist Barry Harris, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Ben Riley, the big-toned Chicago tenor man turns his attention to four traditional folk melodies: "The Londonderry Air" (also known as "Danny Boy"), "Green Grow the Rushes" (a Scottish favorite), "The Kerry Dancers" (an Irish piece), and "Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair" - all of which work perfectly well in an acoustic jazz setting. Not everything on this album (which was recorded in late 1961 and early 1962) is a folk song from the British Isles; the other half of the album ranges from Griffin's moody "Oh, Now I See" to the John Coltrane-influenced "25 1/2 Daze"…

Teamed up with pianist Kenny Drew, bassist Niels Pedersen and drummer Albert "Tootie" Heath for a club date at Copenhagen's Montmartre in 1967 (reissued on CD by Black Lion), the great tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin really stretches out on four numbers: "The Man I Love," "Hush-A-Bye," "Blues for Harvey" and a memorable version of "The Masquerade Is Over." Griffin shows why he was early on billed as "the world's fastest tenor" although he also displays warmth on "Sophisticated Lady." A fine example of Griffin's underrated talents.