(Soul-Jazz, Jazz Blues) The Jimmy McGriff & Hank Crawford Quartet - Blues Groove - 1996, FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Hank Crawford and Jimmy McGriff make an unlikely but richly rewarding team. Each man was a highly successful bandleader in his own right before the two teamed up in 1987 to make an album. The album led to personal appearances, which in turn led to more recordings and which culminated in this latest project. What makes the union unlikely is not the talent and ability of each leader, but rather the musical tradition each man represents.
Jimmy McGriff is from Philadelphia, and Philadelphia is perhaps the single most important American city with regard to the development of the Hammond Organ sound. At the peak of the instrument's popularity, Philadelphia sported well over a dozen organ bars, most of them modest neighborhood clubs. For musicians, these clubs provided more than employment. They were universities and finishing schools for the likes of Groove Holmes, Shirley Scott, Charles Earland, and McGriff. The principal professor was Jimmy Smith, the man who perhaps more than most exemplifies the modern organ tradition. Yet Smith too had to learn from someone, and his teachers came from that earlier school of organ pioneers which included Bill Doggett, Milt Buckner, Dog Bagby, Sir Charles Thompson, and, especially, Wild Bill Davis. Though each of these players developed his own distinctive personality, McGriff stands apart as one who has emphasized the blues and the black swing tradition.
Hank Crawford keeps the blues up front in his conceptions as well. Crawford is one of those musicians who is immediately recognizable by his tone. His sound is that of a first-chair alto saxophonist - the melody player in a big-band saxophone section. We tend to think of modern alto saxophonists as being fleet bebop stylists: Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt, Cannonball Adderley, Lou Donaldson and the like. While Crawford prides himself on being a complete musician, it is obvious that there was another group of alto players who were an important part of his persona. Think of Marshall Royal, Tab Smith, the almost forgotten Don Hill, and James Moody. Moody led a popular eight-piece band during much of the 1950s, and that sound undoubtedly influenced Crawford the arranger; Crawford has since perfected his own unique five-horn sound as one of his trademarks - a sound that began to develop during his tenure (1957-1963) with Ray Charles, first in a small combo and later in the Charles Orchestra, where Crawford was musical director. Afterward, Crawford started leading his own groups of varying sizes. The combination of his Memphis origins and the Southern soul tradition (of which he is very much a part) make Hank Crawford a versatile, distinctive soloist.
The McGriff-Crawford collaborations have always been conceived as small-group sessions, unique from their own sessions and individual sounds. McGriff's recordings often feature two or more horns, while Crawford on his recordings has generally featured his own horn arrangements. Thus the jointly led albums differ from each artist's own projects. This is true also of the repertoire, since jazz standards make up much of the McGriff-Crawford book, with less original material from each man.
The accompanists have long been a part of McGriff's groups. Hartford, Connecticut, is the home of guitarist Wayne Boyd, who began work with McGriff in the 1970s. George Benson is the obvious model (Boyd also sings somewhat in Benson's style), but there are traces of Wes Montgomery and Grant Green which surface from time to time. Persistence has made Boyd an increasingly interesting soloist, and he also has a wonderful rhythm guitar stroke.
Drummer Vance James has worked with the McGriff-Crawford unit as well as with each man individually. A Baltimore resident, James studied with Purnell Rice, an unsung hero among drummers in that area. The hallmark of Vance James's work is the steady and firm beat which combines elements of Jo Jones and Sonny Payne, each of whom contributed mightily to the success of different Count Basie bands. And there is no wasted effort here. It is all accomplished with a minimum of dramatics and a highly desirable sense of swing.
Mention should be made of McGriffs instrument. For many years, the Hammond company abandoned the B-3, the model favored by all the great players. The XB-3 is a new Hammond model which recaptures the original sound, and fans will find the results most agreeable. McGriff also takes advantage of the XB-3's advanced MIDI features with the use of the new Hammond GM-1000 sound module.
The music chosen for this recording is a virtual greatest hits of the soul jazz era. McGriffs Movin' Upside the Blues was first recorded by the composer in 1980, and is given a treatment which might be described as very Basie. The Basie groove is continued with Neal Hefti's Splanky (one of the Count's nicknames), which Basie first recorded in 1958. McGriffs version was done for a 1966 Solid State album, The Big Band.
Slide Hampton's Frame for the Blues was introduced by the fine Maynard Ferguson band of the late 1950s, when Hampton was playing and arranging for that band. Hank recorded it in a album co-led by Memphis guitarist Calvin Newborn, but the treatment rendered here is a beauty.
Lew's Piece comes from Jack McDuff, and was a product of his marvelous mid-1960s quartet with George Benson, Red Holloway, and Joe Dukes. This is one of the most performed tunes from that group's book, and was a favorite in London in a version recorded by English saxophonist Ronnie Scott.
Miles Davis's All Blues is rarely performed by organ groups, yet it seems an especially good choice here. On the other hand, Jimmy Smith's recordings are known by every organist, and The Sermon is simply the latest Smith composition to be recorded by McGriff. McGriff has always credited Smith with being a great teacher.
McGriff and James go all out for When I Fall In Love, which finds Crawford opening with the verse and taking it, by himself, all the way.
Les McCann's Could Be was recorded by the composer on a big-band album with Gerald Wilson. McGriff recorded the tune in the same album that included Movin' Upside the Biues - one that has long been out of print.
Don't Cry, Baby is associated with the Erskine Hawkins band, but is a classic blues ballad that can be played well at a variety of tempos. Crawford, who first recorded it in 1962, takes it at a medium bounce, and his big, wide tone is heard to advantage.
Joe Zawinul's Mercy, Mercy, Mercy was given a slow, churchy treatment in its hit version by Cannonball Adderley, and the ride here makes it seem like a different song.
Together, Hank Crawford and Jimmy McGriff have recorded five albums. Each album has taken a unique approach. It is music that comes from the shared focus of the co-leaders, music that combines the best of the traditions each contributes. Long may their collaboration prosper!