A Blowing Session - Johnny Griffin

Recorded in April 1957 at Rudy Van Gelder's studio for Blue Note Records, A Blowing Session assembles one of the label's most formidable lineups for a hard bop tenor summit. Johnny Griffin leads a septet featuring three tenor saxophonists — Griffin, John Coltrane, and Hank Mobley — alongside Lee Morgan on trumpet, Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Art Blakey on drums. The four tracks alternate between Griffin originals and standards, with extended performances averaging nearly ten minutes each that give all three tenors room to stretch out. "The Way You Look Tonight" and "All the Things You Are" serve as blowing vehicles, while Griffin's "Ball Bearing" and "Smoke Stack" are harder-edged originals built for the rhythm section's power. The contrasts between the three saxophonists define the album: Griffin's speed and ferocity, Mobley's melodic warmth, and Coltrane's dense, searching approach — the session captures Coltrane on the verge of his "sheets of sound" period. Morgan, only eighteen at the time, holds his own alongside the tenors with confident, blues-inflected trumpet work. Released as Griffin's second Blue Note album following Introducing Johnny Griffin, the session exemplifies the competitive, jam-session-rooted spirit of late-1950s hard bop at its most energetic.