The Quarantined Jazz Voyager

As we begin to explore more outings, the Jazz Voyager is still practicing social distancing and mask wearing at gatherings. That said, this week as we continue to see and gather information as to which venues have survived the pandemic, I am pulling from the library the 1981 recording of The Jamfs Are Coming by tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin.

Recorded at a  pair of sessions at a small nightclub in Wihelmshaven, Germany, The Blue Note in Pumpwerk provided the settings for these live performances. His explosive original blues, The Jamfs Are Coming, JAMF being an acronym for a well-known but unprintable expression, is a powerful opener recorded in October 1977.

Following an unaccompanied coda, Griffin rapidly shifts gears into a brief up-tempo rendition of Wee Dot, which unfortunately was faded out. The one-minute chorus of the December 1975 Wee is a complete performance that evidently closed a 1975 set. The LP wraps with an inspired December 1977 take of All the Things You Are, in which Griffin dodges the head initially then squeezes in a lick or two from Happy Birthday and a series of other humorous quotes throughout this frenzied 20-minute workout.

The artwork was by Don Diesveld, photography by AnkoWieringa and Hanz Harzheim and was produced by Wim Wigt Productions.

1. The Jamfs Are Coming (Johnny Griffin) ~ 17:15
2. Wee (Denzil Best) ~ 1:00
3. All The Things You Are (Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern) ~ 20:00

• Johnny Griffin ~ Tenor Saxophone
• Rein de Graaff ~ Piano
• Koos Serierse, Henk Haverhoek ~ Bass
• Art Taylor ~ Drums

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