Johnny Griffin and Thomas Clausen’s Trio: Live In Helsingborg 1990
Griffin’s long career began in 1945, when he was only 17, with Lionel Hampton. He then became popular in R&B circles, progressing to become a noted exponent of hard bop in the late 50s. Aka The Little Giant, he achieved widespread recognition, working with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and the Thelonious Monk quartet, besides making quintet recordings of duelling battles with Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis. Emigrating to Europe in 1963, he settled in Paris, then the Netherlands and Denmark, touring extensively in Europe and internationally.
In this live club performance in Sweden, he is accompanied by an experienced Danish trio familiar with his playing. He steps out with characteristic energy in Just Friends, deploying urgent, fluently fast-fingered runs, with a range of ingeniously diverse rhythmic patterns and showing a fondness for brief, amusing quotes. In These Foolish Things he reveals another dimension to his skills, with an intensely expressive treatment of the melody, graced by delicate, lyrical improvisation. In total contrast, the lovely melody of All The Things You Are, usually played as a slow ballad, is taken upbeat, dismantled and transformed as Griffin unleashes a torrent of almost frenetic improvisation with dizzying speed, skill and rhythmic drive. His instrumental mastery and fecundity of creative ideas is clearly demonstrated, albeit at the expense of a beautiful melody.
Clausen’s trio sounds fired-up for this off-the-cuff, free-ranging jam. Skilled and experienced as they are in the appropriate idiom, their solos strive to match up to Griffin’s exuberant flights, with not much sounding relaxed. Vinding’s bass is impressively nimble, inventive and articulate. However, perhaps a tad over-recorded in the balance, he seems to me too busy in ensemble, and not laying down a steady, propulsive momentum beneath Griffin’s spectacular trajectories. There’s sometimes a curiously crowded feel to the ensemble, almost as though everyone’s soloing at once. Not that Griffin seems to mind. The rhythm settles best in the slow and lengthy Blue Monk (14.30) with some fine blues playing from Griffin, Clausen and Vinding. The track rides out with two choruses of Ellington’s Time’s A Wastin’, Blue Monk apparently forgotten by the end! Clausen contributes strongly to the hectic, breakneck closer, with Griffin really stretching out.
If virtuoso tenor and lively small-group jamming in hard-bop style is your bag, then you’ll thoroughly enjoy this live recording from Storyville’s vaults.
Discography
Just Friends; Call It What You Wanna; These Foolish Things; All The Things You Are; Blue Monk; Wee (65.44)
Griffin (ts); Thomas Clausen (p); Mads Vinding (b); Svend-Erik Norregard (d) Helsingborg, Sweden, 27 July 1990.
Storyville 1018548
Various: Manhattan Swing – Music From The Movies Of Woody Allen
Film director, screenwriter, actor and playwright Woody Allen is also a jazz enthusiast, and active on clarinet. He has frequently used passages from classic vintage jazz recordings to enhance his film soundtracks. The throbbing Gallic melodic charm of Bechet’s Si Tu Vois Ma Mère was used in Midnight In Paris (2011), Garner’s Misty in A Rainy Day In New York (2019), and Ain’t We Got Fun in a special recording for Allen’s spoof 20s fantasy, Zelig (1983).
The very enjoyable and wide ranging selection makes this compilation an appealing sampler introduction to jazz for the casual, non-specialist buyer. It seems a pity then that although Woody’s films are all named with dates, no details other than titular are offered about the famous recordings. Basie and Ellington are pleasingly represented, sticking close to the attractive melodies of Lil’ Darlin and I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart respectively. Billie’s Easy To Love dates back to more carefree younger days in 1936, and Louis stretches out exuberantly at a jogging tempo in his 1931 version of Stardust. Coleman Hawkins is backed by Reinhardt for Out Of Nowhere but Django doesn’t get to solo. There’s pianistic virtuosity aplenty from Tatum (with Webster) in My Ideal and Teddy Wilson in a storming I Got Rhythm. The swing era is well represented by Artie Shaw in Moonglow, the Benny Goodman Sextet in If I Had You, Harry James and Helen Forrest with I’ve Heard That Song Before and Tommy Dorsey’s honey-toned trombone in I’m Getting Sentimental Over You. I’m not sure what Volare (its original title misspelt on the cover as Nel Blue Dipinto Di Blue in place of Nel Blu, Dipinto Di Blu) and Tony Bennett’s Because Of You are doing in this context, but though anomalies they make agreeable enough listening.
There’s some really great music here, and on vinyl, with excellent sound reproduction, but little new if you’re a dedicated jazz collector.
Discography
Sidney Bechet – Si Tu Vois Ma Mere [sic] (Midnight In Paris, 2011); Count Basie – Lil’ Darlin’ – (Mighty Aphrodite, 1995); Art Tatum & Ben Webster – My Deal (September, 1987); Billie Holiday – Easy To Love (Anything Else, 2003); The Charleston City All-Stars – Ain’t We Got Fun (Zelig, 1983); Benny Goodman – If I Had You (You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger, 2010); Domenico Modugno – Nel Blue Dipinto Di Blue [sic] (Volare) (To Rome With Love, 2012) (27.31) – Teddy Wilson – I Got Rhythm (Celebrity, 1998); Coleman Hawkins & Django Reinhardt – Out Of Nowhere (Deconstructing Harry, 1997); Duke Ellington – I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart (Melinda & Melinda, 2004); Erroll Garner – Misty (A Rainy Day In New York, 2019); Louis Armstrong – Stardust (Stardust Memories (1980); Tommy Dorsey – I’m Getting Sentimental Over You (Radio Days, 1987); Artie Shaw – Moonglow (Alice, 1990); Tony Bennett – Because Of You (Wonder Wheel, 2017) (28.59)
No dates given for recordings, and no personnels beyond those above.
New Continent 101049
