LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

Longtime jazz fans still speak fondly of the “tough tenor tandem” of Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis and Johnny Griffin. Of course, the ancient verities as set down in the early-to-mid 1960s by Davis (1922-1986) and Griffin (b. 1928) never go out of fashion. Blues-based themes phrased in close harmonies or powerful unison, rock-hard swing, and roistering horns locked from the jump were the calling cards of the Davis-Griffin quintets. Both men had readily identifiable sounds, with “Jaws” the bigger-toned, more mainstream-oriented player and “Griff” the Gatling-gunning bebopper. Here, in front of typically finger-popping rhythm sections on their first and third LPs for Jazzland (made in 1960 and ’61, respectively), we're reminded of why Davis and Griffin--along with Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt, Al Cohn and Zoot Sims, and, in Europe, Tubby Hayes and Ronnie Scott--are still among the all-time winningest teams of tenor saxophonists.Camp Meeting, Blues Up and Down, Nice and Easy; Oh, Gee; Walkin’, Leapin’ on Lenox, Layin’ on Mellow, Last Train from Overbrook; Hey, Lock!; Midnight at Minton’s, Second Balcony Jump, I’ll Remember April, Good Baitwith Junior Mance, Lloyd Mayers, Larry Gales, Ben Riley