Eddie Lockjaw Davis & Johnny Griffin • Battle Stations

 

Review by Alex Henderson
When Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Johnny Griffin joined forces and formed a two-tenor front line, bop enthusiasts could safely assume that the sparks were going to fly. Davis and Griffin, after all, were one of hard bop's exciting tenor teams -- their saxophone battles were as legendary as the encounters of Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt, Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray, or Phil Woods and Gene Quill (who, unlike the other teams mentioned here, were a two-alto pair). Battle Stations, like other Davis/Griffin encounters, points to the fact that the two tenormen never had a problem finding common ground. Both had big tones; both were very extroverted, aggressive players; and both swung unapologetically hard -- no one ever mistook either of them for members of jazz's cool school, which favored subtlety, restraint, and understatement over intensity and aggression. A sense of friendly competition is evident on Battle Stations; when Davis and Griffin lock horns, the result is musical sportsmanship at its finest. And "friendly" is the operative word on this 1960 date -- as competitive as Davis and Griffin could be, they had a great deal of respect for one another. Battle Stations (which employs Norman Simmons on piano, Victor Sproles on bass, and Ben Riley on drums) demonstrates that the saxmen were not only sparring partners, they were also a mutual admiration society, and the improvisers enjoy an incredibly strong rapport on hard-swinging numbers like "Pull My Coat," "Hey Jim!," and "What's Happening." Battle Stations is an album that fans of heated two-tenor exchanges shouldn't overlook.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/battle-stations-mw0000225638

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Reseña de Alex Henderson
Cuando Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis y Johnny Griffin unieron sus fuerzas y formaron una primera línea de dos tenores, los entusiastas del bop podían asumir con seguridad que iban a saltar chispas. Davis y Griffin, después de todo, eran uno de los equipos de tenores más emocionantes del hard bop - sus batallas de saxofón eran tan legendarias como los encuentros de Gene Ammons y Sonny Stitt, Dexter Gordon y Wardell Gray, o Phil Woods y Gene Quill (que, a diferencia de los otros equipos mencionados aquí, eran una pareja de dos altos). Battle Stations, al igual que otros encuentros entre Davis y Griffin, apunta al hecho de que los dos tenormes nunca tuvieron problemas para encontrar un terreno común. Ambos tenían grandes tonos; ambos eran músicos muy extrovertidos y agresivos; y ambos tocaban con fuerza sin reparos: nadie los confundió nunca con miembros de la escuela cool del jazz, que favorecía la sutileza, la contención y la subestimación por encima de la intensidad y la agresividad. La sensación de competencia amistosa es evidente en Battle Stations; cuando Davis y Griffin se enfrentan, el resultado es deportividad musical en su máxima expresión. Y "amistoso" es la palabra clave en esta cita de 1960: por muy competitivos que pudieran ser Davis y Griffin, se respetaban mucho el uno al otro. Battle Stations (que cuenta con Norman Simmons al piano, Victor Sproles al bajo y Ben Riley a la batería) demuestra que los saxofonistas no sólo eran compañeros de batalla, sino que también eran una sociedad de admiración mutua, y los improvisadores disfrutan de una increíble compenetración en números tan duros como "Pull My Coat", "Hey Jim!" y "What's Happening". Battle Stations es un álbum que los aficionados a los acalorados intercambios entre dos tenores no deberían pasar por alto.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/battle-stations-mw0000225638

Tracklist:
1 - What's Happening - 6:46
2 - Abundance - 6:51
3 - If I Had You - 6:45
4 - 63rd Street Theme - 7:09
5 - Pull My Coat - 6:37
6 - Hey Jim! - 8:01
7 - Billie's Bounce - 11:29
8 - Theme - 1:09


Credits:
    Artwork [Cover], Photography By – Don Schlitten
    Bass – Larry Gales (tracks: 7, 8), Vic Sproles (tracks: 1 to 6)
    Drums – Ben Riley (tracks: 1 to 8)
    Engineer – Rudy Van Gelder (tracks: 1 to 6)
    Piano – Junior Mance (tracks: 7, 8), Norman Simmons (tracks: 1 to 6)
    Producer – Esmond Edwards
    Remastered By [Remaster] – Joe Tarantino
    Tenor Saxophone – Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Johnny Griffin

Notes
Recorded at Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, on September 2, 1960 (tracks 1 to 6) and in performance at Minton's Playhouse, New York City, on January 6, 1961 (tracks 7 and 8).
Tracks 7 and 8 are bonus tracks, track 7 originally released on The Late Show (Prestige 7357), track 7 on Live! The Midnight Show (Prestige 7330).

Total playing time: 55:19 min

Label: Original Jazz Classics ‎– OJCCD-1085-2, Prestige ‎– P-7282
Released: 17 Sep 2002
Genre: Jazz
Style: Soul-Jazz, Hard Bop
https://www.discogs.com/Eddie-Lockjaw-Davis-Johnny-Griffin-Battle-Stations/release/691382

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