Being on the bandstand with Monk has been an underrated fount of creativity for tenor saxophonists, from Coleman Hawkins and John Coltrane to Sonny Rollins and, especially, Charlie Rouse. But none of those renowned horns blew their way around and through the fractured rhythms and oblong angles of Monk's music with the swagger and panache that Johnny Griffin brought to these Five Spot gigs in 1958.

Griffin had just turned 30, was enmeshed in probably the most profound and prolific period of his career and was brimming with confidence. He tears into a host of double-timed phrases, blistering solos and, especially on the two versions of "In Walked Bud," thrilling cadenzas that elevate the piece. While he doesn't take time enough to unlock and explore the harmonic and rhythmic nuances of Monk's music as thoroughly as, say, Rouse, his adrenaline bursts aren't blasphemous and indeed occasionally flush Monk out of his wry and magisterial comfort zone into more fleet, linear excursions. Longtime Monk fans will continue to delight in hearing faithful but slightly spunkier versions of classics like "Blue Monk," "Evidence" and even "Rhythm-a-ning," which has never wanted for energy. There is adherence to Monk's inimitable structure… read more »