Johnny Griffin & Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Ow! Live at the Penthouse

Johnny Griffin & Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
Ow! Live at the Penthouse
Reel To Real

This is the latest production by Zev Feldman and Corey Weeds from previously unissued radio airchecks from Seattle's Penthouse jazz club. It presents nearly an hour of the two tenor saxophone jazz (recorded over two weekends), Johnny Griffin and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis with a rhythm section of Horace Parlan on piano, Seattle bassist Buddy Catlett, and Art Taylor on drums.

For those not familiar with the music of Griffin and Davis, there is plenty of hot tenor saxophone backed by a great rhythm section. As James Carter observes in an interview included in the marvelous liner booklet, it is Davis (out of the Hawkins-Webster school of tenor saxophones) generally takes the first solo, with Griffin taking the later solo, often displaying his ability to play at a blistering speed. In any event, this is music for the heart and not the head starting with a torrid rendition of the Gene Ammons-Sonny Stitt classic "Blues Up and Down." It is followed by a rollicking take on Dizzy Gillespie's "Ow!" Of course, the two tenor saxophones are not the only attraction. Parlan was one of the great pianists, as shown on his solo after Davis' opening solo on 'Bahia." Then there is a spirited "Blue Lou," on which both (but especially Griffin) dazzle with the speed they play. Energized renditions of Billy Eckstine's "Second Balcony Jump" and Lester Young's "Tickle Toe" are complemented by the walking groove of "How Am I To Know?" and the exquisite ballad-playing on Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady."

In addition to the superlative music, the accompanying booklet provides considerable background on their partnership and music. Commentary from Michael Weiss, James Carter, and Kenny Washington add special insight into the music. This is terrific steak and potatoes jazz and will be welcome to the fans of Griffin and Davis, whose music stands up nearly a half-century later.

I purchased this. Here Johnny Griffin & Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis are heard in Scandanavia.

Johnny Griffin-Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis Quintet At Onkel Pö's Carnegie Hall

Johnny Griffin-Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis Quintet
At Onkel Pö's Carnegie Hall
NDRinfo

Onkel Pö's Carnegie Hall was a Hamburg Germany music venue in the 1970s and 1980s that presented a wide variety of music. This CD by the quintet led by the two famous tenor saxophonists, Johnny Griffith and Eddie "Lockjaw' Davis is one of a number of releases of live recordings by such artists as Johnny 'Guitar' Watson, Albert Collins, James Booker, Elvin Jones Jazz Machine, Louis Hayes-Junior Cook Quintet, Louisiana Red, The New Woody Shaw Quintet, Esther Phillips and others.

The present album has the very dynamic saxophonists backed by the trio of Tete Montoliu on piano, Niels-Henning Ørsted-Pedersen on bass, and Art Taylor on drums. There is nothing fancy here, just a hard-swinging set of swing and bop standards with seven performances (roughly 100 minutes) spread across the two CDs, starting with Davis on cymbals and bass drum kicking off a rousing, relatively brief "C Jam Blues." Its a friendly battle as the two joust playing "On Green Dolphin Street," with Ørsted-Pedersen and Montoliu introducing the theme before the two jointly state the theme and take off, both playing robustly on this lengthy performance. Then there is a winsome rendition by Griffith of Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady" with a lengthy, melodious piano solo and a tight bass solo. The first disc concludes with a spirited rendition of Monk's "In Walked Bud."

Lockjaw Davis is featured with some splendid ballad-playing "I Can't Started," opening the second disc followed by a lengthy, high-spirited "Stomping at the Savoy." The two blast off on the simple motive of Benny Green's "Funky Flute" with Griffith's high energy matched by his fellow tenor sax master with Taylor exploding with bombs in support as Montoliu once again demonstrating why he was so highly regarded. After Ørsted-Pedersen solos, Taylor's takes an explosive drum solo, before the horns ride it out. It concludes this excellent straight-ahead set by the two tenor sax giants.

I purchased this. This review appeared in the September-October 2019 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 386) although I made minor stylistic changes. Here is a video of Johnny Griffin and Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis performing. Incidentally, a new CD by the two, "Ow! Live at the Penthouse,"is coming out on Black Friday, Novermber 29, 2019 on Reel to Real Recordings.