When
Johnny Griffin
and
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
entered a New York studio with producer
Orrin Keepnews
on May 3, 1962, they did some things that were unusual for the two-tenor team. They played mostly
ballads
, they didn't engage in any tenor battles and -- most surprising of all -- they didn't perform together on any of the tunes.
Griffin
was featured on four songs,
Davis
on another four. The same rhythm section --
Horace Parlan
, bassist
Buddy Catlett
and drummer
Art Taylor
-- was always present, but
Parlan
played piano on the songs featuring
and celeste on the songs featuring
. For whatever reason, the performances remained in the can for 42 years; they weren't even mastered until 1966, and they finally saw the light of day when
Fantasy
released
Pisces
in 2004.
begs the following question: why, in God's name, would two saxmen who had as strong a rapport as
not perform together when they were in the studio at the same time? Emphasizing
was an excellent idea, but wouldn't it have made more sense for them to do it as co-leaders of a quintet? According to
jazz
critic
Larry Hollis
-- who wrote
' informative liner notes --
' decision to play separately had to do with the fact that they "didn't want to be stereotyped as merely a two-tenor team." In any event, both saxmen are in good form on this CD, which is enjoyable whether the soloist is
on
"Willow Weep for Me"
Duke Ellington
's
"Sophisticated Lady"
or
"Midnight Sun"
"Yesterdays."
For
, deciding to play separately on May 3, 1962 was probably a mistake; even so,
is a noteworthy (if less than essential) album that shouldn't have gone unreleased for so long. ~ Alex Henderson