All Through The Night

We Say...

Review by Charles Farrell

Tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin was once "the fastest tenor in the west," but by the time All Through the Night was recorded in 1988, he had become an elder statesman of jazz, and was much the better for it. If he had lost a little of his otherworldly speed (and he may not have), it had been replaced by a fuller, more developed tone and increased musical intelligence. At 60, he had nothing left to prove; there were almost no other living tenor players whose work carried as genuine a connection to the hard bop idiom. Forged in the particularly demanding crucible of two-tenor cutting contests (his oft-time partner Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis was a similarly fast thinking, fast executing saxophonist), Griffin could play formidably in any company, good or bad.

Here the company is indeed good, although it's clear who's running the show. Pianist Michael Weiss, bassist Dennis Irwin and drummer Kenny Washington know the kind of support Griffin is looking for and skillfully provide it. Never one to make things too easy on himself, Griffin begins with Duke Ellington's exquisite "Isfahan," a composition that already has indelible readings by Johnny Hodges, Paul Gonsalves and Joe Henderson, among others. His version deserves its place in the mix; Griffin lets the melody speak for itself, imbuing it with a distinctively warm tone. He slyly plays behind the beat, a la Dexter Gordon, during the head of "Take My Hand," as if to suggest it might be a tough tempo to make. Then he plows into the changes, fingers effortlessly negotiating every phrase. Pianist Weiss responds with equal facility during his solo, Washington hitting all the right spots behind him.

Griffin's relationship to his old boss Thelonious Monk was always problematic. Monk thrived on melodic reference, while Johnny was a harmonic player. On "Coming on the Hudson," the saxophonist does things his way. For me, it works fine. For "Out of This World," Michael Weiss gets to show his stuff. Set up by Irwin's infectious ostinato and Washington's driving support (reminiscent of the Israel Crosby/Vernel Fournier groove for Ahmad Jamal's "Poinciana"), the trio play a series of building choruses, leaving a perfect opening for the leader to enter. "If I Should Lose You" is an underplayed standard (although was memorably covered by Charlie Parker on "Bird With Strings" as well as on other recordings) that is exactly the sort of tune that Griffin glides through with total authority. His solo sounds easy until you ask yourself who else could have played it.