Griffin Returns: Fifteen Years Later
Johnny Griffin at the peak of his powers, swinging hard in a modern bop quartet.
In 1978, after spending fifteen years away from the United States, Johnny Griffin came home and went straight into the studio to record Return of the Griffin (1979). This wasn't some nostalgic gesture or a victory lap. It was Griffin proving he still had the chops and the ideas—maybe more than ever. The album finds him in a quartet setting, which is where he sounds most comfortable: enough space to breathe, enough voices to have a conversation with. The Bay State Banner heard what Griffin was doing immediately: they called it strong and inspired, noting how dominant his soloing remained. AllMusic reviewer Scott Yanow went further, calling this a session where Griffin played at the peak of his powers. DownBeat gave it five stars, which doesn't happen often and shouldn't be ignored.
What makes this different from Griffin's work earlier in his career is the confidence you hear. He doesn't need to prove anything anymore. The modern bop language here feels natural to him, not something he's adopting to stay relevant. There's maturity in how he moves through these tunes—he's listening to what's around him, pushing when it matters, laying back when the moment calls for it. After so long away, you'd expect rust or hesitation. Instead, you get a musician who sounds like he's been thinking about this music every day he was gone, working it out in his head, waiting for the chance to sit down and play it for real.
This is a peak-period record for Griffin, the kind of session where everything clicks. If you want to hear him at his best in a working quartet, this is the place to start. It's not his only strong album, but it's one where you can hear exactly why musicians who knew his work always considered him one of the best.
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