The Michigan Daily-Sunday, September 24, 1978-Page 7

FRIDA YA T THE JAZZ FESTIVAL.'

A saxophone celebration!

By ALAN RUBENFELD
Dexter Gordon and Johnnie Griffin
treated Ann Arbor to a taste of magic
Friday night. The two saxophone giants
provided the Ann Arbor. Jazz Festival
with such sizzling performances that
the people lucky enough to be there will
likely be talking about it for ages. Their
'tandem playing highlighted a five hour
jazz marathon at Hill Auditorium, in a
L 0
bill that also included trumpeter Fred-
die Hubbard.
Johnnie 'Griff in began the evening's
activities with an hour of hot bopping on
his tenor sax. Although a stranger to
American audiences for fifteen years,
Griffin is recognized as a tenor great
from his work in the fifties and sixties
with Art Blakely's Jazz Messenagers
and Thelonius Monk, the father of
modern bop. Full staccato lines
emenated from his, instrument, filling
Hill with his excitement, electricity,
and verve. His "A Monk's Dream"
(dedicatd to his great mentor) carried
an ethereal sense to it, filled with
dissonances and a constantly evolving
tempo.'
Even when not soloing, Griffin
remained submerged in his music,
clapping and stomping to the individual
efforts of his backup unit: pianist
Walter Davis, pianist Tom Barney, and
drummer Kenny Washington. As a
group or. as individuals, the 'quarter
transmitted a joyous message that
needed no translation. Whether orf the
sensuous "Soft and Furry" or the
driving bopping of "Blues for Harvey"
("dedicated to my favorite barten-
der"), Griffin and company generated
a feeling for their music that the crowd
responded to with, as Griffin put it,
their "positive vibrations."
Paying homage to the Duke, Griffin
soared high on the Ellington classic
"Sophisticated Lady," serving long,
reath filled notes that emphasized the
iece's'deep tenderness.
Dexter Gordon, the next performer,

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Doily Photo by ANDY FREEBERG
Johnny Griffin (left) and Dexter Gordon laugh it up after their show Friday night at the Ann Arbor Jazz Festival.

is no stranger to the Ann Arbor crowd.
In his third show in towd in the past
year, the sophisticated giant charmed
the Festival with his deep, gentle voice
and sax virtuosity. His also work, as
always, was lush, deep, and sweet. The
exceptional rhythm section of bassist
Rufus Reid, pianist George Cables, and
the electifying drummer, Eddie Glad-;
den, propelled Gordon to new heights as
his set gained momentum.
"Come Rain or Come Shine," a
slower paced, mellifluous tune, gave

each musician ample opportunity to
expand and explore various avenues of
improvisation. Compared to Griffin's
harsher tonality, Gordon's seemed less
frenetic and fuller. On "La Modal,"
Gordon switched to a soprano sax and
'performed a Coltrane influenced
melody, adding an Easten, mystical
sentiment to his music. Again, the
group of soloists were nothing less than
awesome. Reid's underlying harmonies
vibrated fluently off his contrabass.
See JAZZ, Page 8

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