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"A Blowin' Session" with Johnny Griffin


boomac

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I stumbeled across this while at the CD Store last night. It's Blue Note 1559 and it is indeed, a blowin' session. Check out this list of talent:

Lee Morgan - Trumpet

Johnny Griffin - Tenor Sax

Hank Mobley - Tenor Sax

John Coltrane - Tenor Sax

Wynton Kelly - Piano

Paul Chambers - Bass

Art Blakey - Drums

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I don't know about the vinyl but I bet somebody will provide that information soon. I have only listened to it in the truck and will hold off any review until I here it at home. I just thought it was an interesting date and figured one of the heavy hard bop guys would fill us in. What I heard in the truck was good. It'll be interesting to see if you can pick out who's blowin' when. I think I can pick out Mobley but the other two are too close.

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http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000005HBZ.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

The story goes that this was to be a sextet recording teaming Griffin with Mobley and Lee Morgan but that Mobley was hanging with Coltrane when Griffin went to pick him up for the ride out to New Jersey to Rudy Van Gelder's and that Griffin told 'Trane to come along and join the session.

Anyway, this is an inspired outing. Griffin was just starting to make his name in New York, having recorded one LP for Blue Note and this was to be his second outing. He was touted as "the fastest sax in the world" and when you listen to him RIP through a few choruses of "The Way You Look Tonight" (track one, side one) it's easy to understand why! Griffin dominates the session (well, he IS the leader after all), but Mobley and Coltrane (who had just left Miles Davis and was about to join Monk) more than hold their own. It's really very easy to pick the three tenors out here--Trane was just entering his "sheets of sound" stage and Mobley's lush, soft, thick (when compared with Griffin and 'Trane anyway) tone really sets him apart. KILLER session with a hot-as-a-pistol Lee Morgan and the Blue Note all-star rythym section of Paul Chambers, Art Blakey and Wynton Kelly.

This is one of the essentials.

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The original Blue Note was a deep-groove pressing with the rare "New York 23" labels.

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You also see this one with the more common "47 W. 63rd" labels. An original will sell for $300-$600 in VG+ to NM condition. The slightly later pressing will set you back about 25% less--there is virtually no sonic difference.

This one was also reissued in the early 70's with a "Division of United Artists" label and these sell for $20-$35. Sonics are OK--certainly better than any CD version I have heard.

1559 was also pressed in Japan at least THREE times--I have seen 1970's "KING" pressings (generally thought to be the best Japanese Blue Notes), 1980's Toshiba pressings and late 1990's Toshiba "Heavy Vinyl" pressings. All of these are good.

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