Johnny Johnny Griffin

Avid Jazz continues with its Four Classic Album series with a re-mastered 2CD release from Johnny Griffin & Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, complete with original artwork, liner notes and personnel details. “Tough Tenors”; “Lookin’ At Monk”; “Blues Up And Down” and “Griff & Lock”.
Two tough tenors, indeed! These two titans of the tenor sax both had wildly prolific careers but somehow found the time to come together as a hard blowing unit from 1960-1962. Discovering they had compatible styles on their chosen tenors the pair decided to form their famous quintet where you will hear, rather than perhaps the expected cutting sessions, their styles perfectly complimenting each other…

Johnny Griffin had been kicking around in R&B bands for years before his Blue Note debut in 1956. A tenor saxophonist with fresh sounds, a warm, soulful style and the fastest technique in jazz, he moves from lyrical ballads to blistering tempos with ease. The first-class accompaniment is provided by Wynton Kelly, Curly Russell and Max Roach. Within two years, Griff would becomes one of the leading tenor saxophonists in jazz as a member of Thelonious Monk's quartet.

This CD reissues a studio date that tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin and his quintet (trumpeter Dave Burns, pianist Norman Simmons, bassist Vic Sproles and drummer Ben Riley) performed before an invited and enthusiastic studio audience, who provided atmosphere. Babs Gonzales introduces several of the numbers, but proves to be an unnecessary presence. However, Griffin in particular plays quite well in this loose straight-ahead setting; Burns shows that he was always a very underrated trumpeter; and the five lengthy selections are all worth hearing. The best are "Good Bait" (which is almost 12½ minutes long), "Toe-Tappin'," and "Low Gravy."

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"…

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.

Johnny Griffin, known as the world's fastest tenor-saxophonist in the late 1950's, purposely slowed down a bit on some of his later Riverside albums including this set which was reissued on a 1998 CD. Griffin is joined by pianist Buddy Montgomery (who switches to vibes on two of the six numbers), bassist Monk Montgomery (heard in a rare outing on acoustic bass) and drummer Art Taylor. They perform four standards (including "The Midnight Sun Will Never Set" and "That's All") and a couple of Griffin's basic originals. The music swings and the classic tenorman cuts loose a few times, making for enjoyable if not quite essential music.