LAme 3.96 mp3, vbr 320, 88 mb total

Review	by Alex Henderson

Like hip-hoppers, bebop musicians can be incredibly competitive. When rappers get together in a club and engage in microphone battles, it becomes a form of musical sportsmanship -- and the same can be said about bop competitions. In the 1940s and 1950s, bop was famous for its saxophone battles. Dexter Gordon versus Wardell Gray, Sonny Stitt versus Gene Ammons, Phil Woods versus Gene Quill, Zoot Sims versus Al Cohn -- those were only some of the friendly tenor or alto battles that took place back then. The term "saxophone battle" was also used to describe the relationship of Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Johnny Griffin, who co-led a two-tenor quintet from 1960-1962. But the big-toned saxmen didn't see their relationship as a battle or a cutting contest; they liked to think of it as an exchange of ideas. However you describe their relationship, they complement each other beautifully on Blues Up and Down. Released in late 2000, this hard bop reissue combines two sessions on a single CD: 1960's Griff & Lock and 1961's Blues Up and Down. The hard boppers enjoy a strong rapport throughout the disc, which contains Davis and Griffin originals as well as spirited, hot-blooded versions of Tadd Dameron's "Good Bait," James Moody's "Last Train From Overbrook," and Richard Carpenter's "Walkin'." Employing Junior Mance or Lloyd Mayers on piano, Larry Gales on bass, and Ben Riley on drums, Davis and Griffin don't perform any ballads -- instead, they keep things exuberant on this excellent reissue. 

Tracks
			
  	  	1 	Camp Meeting 	Griffin 	5:27
Composed by:	Griffin
Performed by:	Davis, Eddie "Lockjaw" And The...
  	  	2 	Blues up and Down 	Ammons, Stitt 	5:08
Composed by:	Ammons, Stitt
Performed by:	Davis, Eddie "Lockjaw" And The...
  	  	3 	 	Nice and Easy 	Griffin 	7:32
Composed by:	Griffin
Performed by:	Davis, Eddie "Lockjaw" And The...
  	  	4 	 	Oh, Gee 	Gee 	3:55
Composed by:	Gee
Performed by:	Davis, Eddie "Lockjaw" And The...
  	  	5 	 	Walkin' 	Carpenter 	6:58
Composed by:	Carpenter
Performed by:	Davis, Eddie "Lockjaw" And The...
  	  	6 		Leapin' on Lenox 	Davis 	4:40
Composed by:	Davis
Performed by:	Davis, Eddie "Lockjaw" And The...
  	  	7 		Layin' on Mellow 	Davis, Griffin 	4:5