Steve
Griggs - Reviews
Steve
Griggs Quintet Live!
CD review
by Larry Nai from Jazziz (May 2001)
Tenor saxophonist
Lester Young once said that he tried to tell a story in his solos, extemporizing
on the lyrics of his beloved standards instrumentally and amplifying
their emotional content through his playing.
Steve Griggs, himself a tenor (and soprano) player, applies this rule
of thumb to his quintet: each player molding a thread in the musical
narrative into expressive harmony.
The gentle Yes seems to float in midair, its Wayne Shorter-like
harmonies prompting rich reflections from both the leader and Jay Thomas,
on trumpet. When Griggs ends a breathy, repeated arpeggiated run with
an interrogative, high-register swirl, its like watching a rose
grow in time-lapse photography, its petals pointing oddly astray.
Milo Petersens delicate guitar notes on To Walk In Beauty
set the backdrop for trumpet and tenor essays that imply variegated
hues of meaning, while his bluesy, ringing chords on Quiet Afternoon
are windows into a scene of hushed deliberation, as suggested by the
tunes graceful melody.
Not all of Griggs stories are whispered, though. Propelled by
the crisp, considered rumble of Jeff Stitelys drums and Phil Sparks
woody bass, both The Ropes and Jones For Elvin
open the bellows for roaring statements by all hands and reveal a distinctive
bite to the mellifluous purr of Griggs tenor sax.