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Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis/Johnny Griffin
Blues Up and Down(Milestone)
The two-tenor team of Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Johnny Griffin was formed in 1960 following the breakup of Davis's organ trio with Shirley Scott after a five year run. The Davis/Griffin team stayed together until 1962. They were carrying on a 1940s and 1950s tradition of "tenor battles," that included such pairings as Coleman Hawkins and Don Byas (1941), Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray or Gene Ammons (mid to late-1940s) and Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt (early 1950s). (I'm almost tempted to add Rahsaan Roland Kirk to the list¾some of his simultaneous, multi-instrumental playing reminds me of the unison playing of Davis and Griffin.)
The present release, Blues Up and Down, consists of two of Davis/Griffin albums, Griff and Lock and Blues Up and Down, recorded for the Jazzland subsidiary of Riverside Records in 1960 and 1961. The bluesy earthy-toned Davis is the more swing-oriented of the two players—he played in the Count Basie Orchestra. Griffin has a nimble, softer-sounding tone and is more bop-oriented, having played with Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell and Art Blakey. Many of the tunes are blues based and the format of the tunes is usually the same—the theme is stated in unison, then there are solos first by Davis, then by Griffin. Despite the formula of the format, the playing is exciting throughout due to the energy and skill of their playing.
— Alan Lankin, 7 November 2000
Release Date: 27 September 2000
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last update 19 November 2000