During late 1993 and early 1994, trumpeter Roy Hargrove (1969-2018) recorded his CD The Tenors Of Our Time which featured Johnny Griffin, Ron Blake, Joe Henderson, Branford Marsalis, Joshua Redman, and Stanley Turrentine on various tracks.

One of the pieces was the soulful strut “Greens At The Chicken Shack.”

Hargrove (who was just 24 at the time) performed that number at the 1994 North Sea Jazz Festival along with tenors Griffin, Blake and Redman, pianist Peter Martin, bassist Rodney Whitaker, and drummer Greg Hutchinson.

The trumpeter sets the standard with a blazing solo and is followed by soulful, hard-driving and adventurous solos from Griffin, Redman (who builds his improvisation from where Griffin left off), Blake (who is far from overshadowed), pianist Martin, and bassist Whitaker before a particularly rousing conclusion.

Try to listen to this performance without tapping your foot and clapping along.

-Scott Yanow