01. Tickle Toe (Young)  5:27 
02. Save Your Love For Me (Johnson)  7:06 
03. Twins (Davis, Griffin)  6:32 
04. Funky Fluke (Green)  9:14 
05. Imagination (Van Heusen, Burke)  4:27 
06. Soft Winds (Henderson)  7:17

Musicians:
Johnny Griffin - tenor saxophone
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis - tenor saxophone
Junior Mance - piano
Larry Gales - bass
Ben Riley – drums

Recorded at Plaza Sound Studios, New York on November 4 & 10, 1960

If one feels their music getting a bit stale, perhaps a little too predictable, then they have a couple choices. They can dig back into their roots to reconnect with the music they love, or they can go head to head with a counterpoint in an effort to create sparks. Johnny Griffin and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis choose the latter course in Tough Tenors, turning a half-dozen pieces into an enticing mix of edgy solos and synchronized ensemble playing. The fun stuff here bops along at a giddy pace, letting Griffin and Davis trade their tough leads, while pianist Junior Mance offers a slight pause with his swift keyboarding. Lester Young's "Tickle Toe" kicks off the affair with aplomb, and Davis/Griffin's "Twins" provides plenty of room for explosive solo work. The album's center rests with the nine-minute take on Bennie Green's "Flunky Flute," a spontaneous piece that eventually -- because of the players' intensity -- becomes an endurance test. The medium tempo of "Soft Winds" qualifies as a ballad for these guys, and the mellow groove makes it an easygoing closer. Bassist Larry Gales and drummer Ben Riley also do a fine job of keeping this boisterous crew on the ground. Tough Tenors is one of the many amazing jazz recordings from 1960, and will please saxophone fans, Davis/Griffin fans, and anyone who enjoys classic hard bop. --- Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.

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1. Way You Look Tonight, The
2. Ball Bearing
3. All The Things You Are
4. Smoke Stack
+
5. Smoke Stack - (alternate take)

Bass – Paul Chambers
Drums – Art Blakey
Piano – Wynton Kelly
Tenor Saxophone – Hank Mobley, John Coltrane, Johnny Griffin
Trumpet – Lee Morgan

Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, New Jersey on April 6, 1957
Originally issued as Blue Note BLP 1559.

While listening to A Blowin' Session -- so named because of the four horn players featured on the album -- one wonders why Johnny Griffin didn't become a "saxophone colossus" like contemporaries Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter, or John Coltrane (who plays on this album). Griffin firm tone and blisteringly fast runs on the tenor sax place him head and shoulders above both Coltrane and Hank Mobley on this set. (To be fair, Coltrane was likely still an active user of heroin and alcohol when this was recorded, prior to the spiritual awakening and subsequent sobriety he experienced in the Summer of 1957, which he discusses in the liner notes to A Love Supreme.) As a band leader, Griffin leads a tight group, anchored by two legendary players on the rhythm section: Paul Chambers (bass) and Art Blakely (drums). The four horns come off a bit gimmicky at times, especially during the choruses, and the arrangements are fairly predictable. Either way, Griffin runs a tight ship here. The opener, "The Way You Look Tonight," is the clear highlight, showing off everybody's talents expertly. Otherwise, the remaining three tracks are quite solid, though the covers are a bit better than Griffin's originals ("Ball Bearing" and "Smoke Stack"). Aside from Griffin and the rhythm section, Coltrane's playing shows signs of his emerging and signature style, though he's not quite yet to the place where he could pull off something like "Giant Steps." Lee Morgan is as fluid and forceful as ever. The only weak link here is probably Hank Mobley, who seems dwarfed by the talent surrounding him. All in all, fans of hard bop will find plenty to enjoy about this album, and revel in its all-star lineup. ---yerblues , rateyourmusic.com

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1. The Congregation		6:45
2. Latin Quarter		6:27
3. I'm Glad There Is You	5:08
4. Main Spring		6:31
5. It's You Or No One		4:49
6. I Remember You		7:29

Personnel: 
Johnny Griffin (tenor saxophone); 
Sonny Clark (piano); 
Paul Chambers (bass); 
Kenny Dennis (drums).

The great tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin is heard in top form on this near-classic quartet set. Assisted by pianist Sonny Clark, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Kenny Dennis, Griffin is exuberant on "The Congregation" (which is reminiscent of Horace Silver's "The Preacher"), thoughtful on the ballads, and swinging throughout. It's recommended for bop collectors. ---Scott Yanow, Rovi

A highly regarded recording in the impressive discography of Johnny Griffin, this recently remastered RVG edition of The Congregation is more likely to appeal to the faithful than win many new converts. On this 1957 session, the "world's fastest tenor sets aside his gun-slinging ways in favor of comparatively restrained, straightforward preaching, consisting of some basic, rather predictable harmonic-rhythmic rhetoric and, of course, that distinctive sound.

Griffin's ample and slow Leslie-like vibrato is somewhat reminiscent of Dexter Gordon's but without the long tall one's frequently sardonic send-up of swing-era clichés, replacing them with tension-filled, dramatic alternatives derived from a chord's extended harmonies. In brief, the program on The Congregation is curiously unengaging: it would almost seem the "Little Giant" dispatched more souls with his six-shooters than his sermonizing.

A sense of over-familiarity sets in immediately with the introductory title song, a thinly disguised variation on Horace Silver's "The Preacher. The remaining five tunes, including the ballad "I'm Glad There Is You, all gravitate toward the same groove—a medium-up tempo in the key of concert F (a recurrent top tone in the tenor solos as well). And as solid, even sparkling, as they are, Paul Chambers' bass solos on each of the tunes—at least three of them bowed—tend to underscore the repetitive, formulaic nature of the proceedings.

The virtuosity and rapid-fire articulations of the gifted tenor man begin to emerge on John Jenkins' "Latin Quarter (somewhat of a misnomer) with a couple of heated, double-timed choruses and an arresting cadenza, but the momentary spark is extinguished until Jule Styne's always welcome "It's You Or No One which, though again in F, is at least taken at a slightly brighter tempo.

Pianist Sonny Clark and Chambers are a flawless team as usual, and the somewhat unusual employment of drummer Kenny Dennis does nothing to obstruct their customary flow. The bonus track, "I Remember You (in F, naturally), is another nice standard but does little for the program. Its inclusion, in fact, begs comparison with Cannonball Adderley's superb Cannonball Takes Charge (Riverside, 1959), a session that employs the same instrumentation and a similar program yet maintains a hard, gemlike flame throughout. ---Samuel Chell, Rovi

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