Johnny Griffin

A Blowin' Session

★★★★

Aptly titled of course. It's as simple as that. Three tenors, sorry, three legendary tenors, and a whole lineup that will make the mouth of any hard bop fan water. Art Blakey on drums, and he's sure to make himself known. Lee Morgan on trumpet is also a very fine and underrated addition. Wynton Kelly and Paul Chambers also help make up one of the most reliable and distinguishable rhythm sections of the hard bop era. The three tenors are unique in style and don't really fit into the mold that the leader tries to put them in.

Johnny Griffin, John Coltrane, and Hank Mobley. All are esteemed and important figures in jazz but each has a style that is not only instantly recognizable but also provides a different flavor with their solos. Hank is a soulful almost bluesy type, keeping a slower tempo than all the rest; he's a bit out of his comfort zone here. Coltrane and Griffin are right in their sweet spot more like. Coltrane with his early, angular sound and Griffin who just completely shreds the tenor like his life depends on it.

There are some standards here, but they barely seem like it. And it starts off FAST. The horses are let out into the race, and the dust is still settling by the end of the record. After "The Way You Look Tonight" everything else seems to be a bit more mid-tempo, which lets you breath a bit and insures the horns plenty of time to perfect their solos. 

I do think that the two original compositions by Griffin fall a bit flat on this album, but nothing that isn't fixed with the effort and energy put in by the players. Even though this has a great lineup don't come in expecting them to sound like their individual albums. Each had to make compromises for this to work, and it works beautifully. 

Favorite Song: The Way You Look Tonight