Johnny Griffin - Return Of The Griffin (1978) [Galaxy - vinyl]

Review by Chris Sheridan, Jazz Journal (UK) July 1980:
This LP, a result of a remarkable three-day session, is Griffin’s finest-ever recording. The power and variety of his playing on every title is awesome, from the compelling gallop through Autumn to the tender balladry of When We Were One; from the funky Dream to the spring-heeled I Should Care. After an almost brusque dismissal of the theme of Autumn, Griffin takes off on a series of choruses that are simply breathtaking until, halfway through, he changes into overdrive! Dream is so perfect an impression of Monk that it could have been written by the master (but, then, Griffin was Trane's successor in Monk's quartet). Fifty-Six (based on This Masquerade Is Over), the longest cut, is another headlong rush of unrelenting invention, contrasting neatly the "walking the bar" tack of The Way It Is. One interesting point emerging from these LPs is that Griffin's timbre has lost the fluffiness of earlier years; another is that he allows more space in his solos nowadays. Most important, though, is that he is probably the strongest tenorist of his generation playing these days, and, in "Return" he has made not only the record of the month, but also of the year.

Autumn Leaves
When We Were One
Monk's Dream
The Way It Is
Fifty-Six
I Should Care

Johnny Griffin (ts) Ronnie Mathews (p) Ray Drummond (b) Keith Copeland (d)
Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, CA, October 17, 1978