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, it’s like watching a rose grow in time-lapse photography, its petals pointing oddly astray.
Milo Petersen’s 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 tune’s graceful melody.
Not all of Griggs’ stories are whispered, though. Propelled by the crisp, considered rumble of Jeff Stitely’s 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.