egroj world: Johnny Griffin • A Blowin' Session

Sunday, April 24, 2022

Johnny Griffin • A Blowin' Session

Review
by Al Campbell
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. Showcased on this April 8, 1957, session are two standards, "The Way You Look Tonight" and "All the Things You Are," along with two original Griffin compositions, "Ball Bearing" and "Smoke Stack." (An added bonus on the 1999 Rudy Van Gelder remastered edition is an alternate take of "Smoke Stack.") Of special note is "The Way You Look Tonight," featuring the three tenors trading off with complexity and speed that is still astonishing, especially in the case of Griffin (dubbed the world's fastest saxophonist) and Coltrane's ability to navigate complex chord changes over a fast tempo.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/a-blowin-session-mw0000243668

///////

Reseña
por Al Campbell
A Blowin' Session es una de las mejores jam sessions de hard bop jamás grabadas; está llena de pasión y camaradería contagiosas. También es la única vez que los saxofonistas tenores Johnny Griffin y John Coltrane tocarían juntos en una grabación. Inicialmente Coltrane no estaba programado para esta fecha, pero Griffin le vio de camino al estudio de Rudy Van Gelder y le pidió que se uniera al resto de los músicos, el tercer tenor Hank Mobley, el trompetista Lee Morgan, el pianista Wynton Kelly, el bajista Paul Chambers y el batería Art Blakey. Todos estos músicos estaban asociados dentro de la misma escena de hard bop de la Costa Este de la época; venían de los Jazz Messengers y del quinteto de Miles Davis, y muchos habían tocado con la big band de Dizzy Gillespie. En esta sesión del 8 de abril de 1957 se muestran dos estándares, "The Way You Look Tonight" y "All the Things You Are", junto con dos composiciones originales de Griffin, "Ball Bearing" y "Smoke Stack". (Un bonus añadido en la edición remasterizada de 1999 de Rudy Van Gelder es una toma alternativa de "Smoke Stack"). Cabe destacar "The Way You Look Tonight", en la que los tres tenores se intercambian con una complejidad y una velocidad que siguen siendo sorprendentes, especialmente en el caso de Griffin (apodado el saxofonista más rápido del mundo) y la habilidad de Coltrane para navegar por complejos cambios de acordes a un ritmo rápido.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/a-blowin-session-mw0000243668

1 - The Way You Look Tonight 9:37
2 - Ball Bearing 8:07
3 - All The Things You Are 10:10
4 - Smoke Stack 10:09
5 - Smoke Stack (Alternative Take) 11:00

Credits:
    Bass – Paul Chambers
    Design [Cover] – Reid Miles
    Drums – Art Blakey
    Liner Notes [1999] – Bob Blumenthal
    Liner Notes [Original] – Ira Gitler
    Photography By [Cover Background] – Harold Feinstein
    Photography By [Cover Photograph, Liner Photographs] – Francis Wolff
    Piano – Wynton Kelly
    Producer – Alfred Lion
    Recorded By, Remastered By – Rudy Van Gelder
    Reissue Producer – Michael Cuscuna
    Tenor Saxophone – Hank Mobley, John Coltrane, Johnny Griffin
    Trumpet – Lee Morgan

Recorded on April 8, 1957 at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Tracks 1 to 4 originally issued as Blue Note BLP 1559
Track 5 previously unissued, not part of the original album

Label: Blue Note – 7243 4 99009 2 9
Series: RVG Edition
Genre: Jazz
Style: Hard Bop
https://www.discogs.com/release/2930654-Johnny-Griffin-A-Blowin-Session