Johnny Griffin’s ‘A Blow Session’ Gets Vinyl Reissue

Johnny Griffin’s A Blowing Session is set to receive a reissue courtesy of Blue Note’s beloved Classic Vinyl series.

This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is mono, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

Originally titled Johnny Griffin, Vol. 2, A Blowing Session was recorded with fellow tenor saxophonists John Coltrane and Hank Mobley. The album was released in 1957 and marked Griffin’s second Blue Note release. Other players on this lively set are trumpeter Lee Morgan and a rhythm section with pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Art Blakey.

A Blowing Session features two originals and two standards. The originals are “Ball Bearing” and “Smoke Stack.” The standards are Jerome Kern’s “The Way You Look Tonight” and “All The Things You Are.”

1957 was a major year for the young Chicago tenor saxophonist. A few months into the year, he released his solo debut, Introducing Johnny Griffin. Later that year, Griffin walked into Van Gelder studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, to record his third album The Congregation, released the following year on Blue Note. Griffin had spent several months playing and recording with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, appearing on albums like Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk and Hard Drive. Around the same period, he performed with Clark Terry, Wilbur Ware, and more. By the end of the year, he had a bright and successful solo career on the horizon.

At five foot five inches tall, Griffin was nicknamed “Little Giant” for his short stature, but colossal musical talent. In 1959, he released the eponymously titled album Little Giant. By the early 1960s, Griffin, like many jazz musicians, was living in Paris, France. He performed on many albums with European rhythm sections for the Storyville, Black Lion, and Steeplechase labels.

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