"Smoke Stack" (Alternate Take) is a second version of Johnny Griffin's blues composition from his 1957 album A Blowing Session, providing a fascinating comparison with the master take by presenting the same musicians navigating the same material with a different solo order and fresh improvisational ideas. This alternate opens identically with Wynton Kelly's two-chorus piano introduction, followed by Griffin's nine choruses of tenor saxophone. However, the solo sequence then diverges from the master take, with Hank Mobley taking eight choruses before Lee Morgan's ten trumpet choruses. John Coltrane contributes eight choruses in this version, one more than on the master, his improvisation taking different harmonic paths while maintaining the same intense commitment to harmonic exploration. Kelly returns for six choruses of piano, two more than on the master take. The alternate take's inclusion on the album provides rare insight into the creative process of a jazz recording session, revealing how the same musicians could produce substantially different musical results from identical starting points. At a slightly slower initial tempo of approximately 215 beats per minute, this version develops at a somewhat more measured pace while still building to comparable levels of intensity. The existence of both takes underscores the improvisational authenticity of the session, confirming that these performances were genuinely spontaneous rather than carefully rehearsed.
