Great Jazz Albums (IMO) #38

Johnny Griffin and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis.  Tough Tenors: The Johnny Griffin and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Quintet (1960).  These two "tough tenors" had very different styles.  Griffin was one of the great bop players, known for being "the fastest tenor in the west."  Among his many other dates, he made some great recordings with Thelonious Monk.  Davis was more rooted in "swing and blues."  I am most familiar with his Cookbook series of albums he made with organist Shirley Scott in the late 1950s.  Griffin and Davis formed a quintet in 1960, where they go head-to-head, and it works brilliantly, "turning a half-dozen pieces into an enticing mix of edgy solos and synchronized ensemble playing."  As one reviewer said, this "will please saxophone fans, Davis/Griffin fans, and anyone who enjoys classic hard bop."

[Related posts:  Great Jazz Albums  #1 (Hank Mobley), #2 (Horace Silver), #3 (Sonny Rollins), #4 (Sonny Clark), #5 (Dexter Gordon), #6 (Cannonball Adderley); #7 (Bill Evans), #8 (McCoy Tyner), #9 (Clifford Brown), #10 (Sinatra), #11 (Monk), #12 (Kenny Dorham), #13 (Coltrane), #14 (Duke Ellington), #15 (Miles Davis), #16 (Wayne Shorter), #17 (Dinah Washington); #18 (Sarah Vaughan); #19 (Stan Getz); #20 (Blue Mitchell); #21 (Gene Ammons); #22 (Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers); #23 (Red Garland); #24 (Ella Fitzgerald); #25 (Charlie Parker); #26 (Art Pepper); #27 (Bud Powell); #28 (John Hicks); #29 (Kenny Barron); #30 (Coleman Hawkins); #31 (Count Basie);  #32 (Benny Carter w/ Ben Webster and Barney Bigard); #33 (Chet Baker); #34 (Thad  Jones); #35 (The Great Jazz Trio); #36 (Ahmad Jamal); #37 (Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond)]