AMG:
Grab This! finds tenor Johnny Griffin in a soul-jazz mood, which is greatly aided by the organ of Paul Bryant. They are joined by guitarist Joe Pass, bassist Jimmy Bond, and drummer Doug Sides for nice workouts on several originals and a couple of standards. The band seems confident and relaxed throughout this recording, injecting everything it touches with a healthy dose of the blues. Griffin's tone is rich and full throughout, but is most striking on Ellington and Russell's "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" and the self-penned original "Grab This!" Bryant has been given special guest status, and his style is perfectly matched with Griffin's. He also wrote the wonderful "Offering Time," a slow blues piece with a strong groove. While Pass' role here is more supportive, he turns in several fine solos, as on "63rd Street Theme" and "Offering Time." What is perhaps most striking about Pass' role here is his versatility: he appears as comfortable playing soul-jazz as he would playing hard bop or swing. Bond and Sides supply the steady rhythm needed to keep this soul-jazz moving along. It's amazing that five guys were able to get together and cut this album for Riverside in one day during the summer of 1962. Like Carmell Jones, Griffin moved to Europe in the '60s, lowering his profile in the United States. Grab This! is a fine album, and serves as a reminder of Griffin's lovely tenor sound. ~ Ronnie Lankford Jr., All Music Guide


Amazon.com reviewer:
Featuring Paul Bryant on organ, a very subdued Joe Pass (barely heard, but when he is, as tasty as chicken soup), Jimmy Bond on bass and Doug Sides on drums, this album swings in the painful sense of the word. Johnny Griffin's deep, warm, soulful, fluid and groovin' tone aside, Paul Bryant takes some of the richest and tastiest sounding organ solos probably ever laid down in any studio... in particular he's a master at chordal style soloing... but can also lay down the bop and gospel as well... much "cooler" than Milt Buckner, and leading more towards Johnny Hammond Smith you can hear, smell and feel the double Leslie spinnin on behind Johnny Griffin who takes you straight to heaven. Grab This *is* aptly titled... it *is* something you should grab... a collection of fantastic mid-tempo grooves recording in the summer of '62 and produced by the great Orrin Keepnews, this CD is Griffin's first recording with an organ combo that walks a rewardingly fine line between "soul Jazz" and heavy swing. Griffin outdoes himself on each cut, and if Offering Time doesn't make you want to get out the tamborine and movin' around or These Foolish Things don't want to make you make love, the answer is simple... yuh' ain't got no soul. This CD is a must have ! Also check out Freddy Roach's Good Move and Johnny Hammond Smith's Black Coffee if you dig this sound.

Personnel:
Johnny Griffin (tenor sax)
Paul Bryant (organ)
Joe Pass (guitar)
Jimmy Bond (bass)
Doug Sides (drums)

Recording Date : Jun 28, 1962


Tracks:
1. Grab This! (Griffin) 6:06
2. 63rd Street Theme (Griffin) 5:34
3. Don't Get Around Much Anymore (Ellington, Russell) 8:37
4. Offering Time (Bryant) 6:16
5. These Foolish Things (Link, Marvell, Strachey) 6:39
6. Cherry Float (Griffin) 5:29

The first question everyone asks about Collision Course is "Is this album more Jay-Z or Linkin Park?" The wrong answer is that it's Jay-Z with a loud band or a back-and-forth of covers where one rearranges the other. The right answer is that this CD/DVD set is quite possibly one of the best cross-genre pairings of its kind. What started off as an exercise at "mashing" a Linkin Park track with a Jay-Z track turned into a fantastic pickup game between two artists at the top of their worlds. Each brought a short list of their best songs to the field and walked away with a six-song trophy. This is recess in the supergroup sandbox, and the boys shared their toys. "Numb/Encore" and "Izzo/In the End" are near-perfect plays of seamless sonic moves and mic assists from heavy metal to hip-hop and back. Both artists have spent a little time in the other camp on various parts of their records, but it's the collaboration that makes this album a winner. It may be true that Linkin Park is less than convincing than J-Hova on "Big Pimpin'/Papercut," but there's no evidence of "I" on this team. In fact, the DVD clearly shows Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda taking on the role of head coach as he commands the digital workstation, the mixing desk, and all the players with a collective spirit. -- Pete Hilgendorf - Amazon


Tracklist:
1. Dirt Off Your Shoulder/Lying From You
2. Big Pimpin'/Papercut
3. Jigga What/Faint
4. Numb/Encore
5. Izzo/In The End
6. Points Of Authority/99 Problems/One Step Closer

Allmusic.com:
Bobby Hutcherson recorded frequently for Blue Note in the 1960s, though this session remained unissued until 1999. The first half features the vibraphonist in a cooking hard bop session with Joe Henderson and Duke Pearson, starting with an energetic take on the normally slow ballad "If Ever I Would Leave You" and a sizzling Hutcherson original, "For Duke P." Guitarist Grant Green is added for the second half, beginning with the first recording of Henderson's "The Kicker," which became well known from it's later rendition on Horace Silver's highly successful release Song for My Father. Because this is part of Blue Note's limited-edition Jazz Connoisseur series, don't delay in picking it up.

100greatestjazzalbums.blogspot.com:
Led by another of the sixties' undervalued players, Bobby Hutcherson, whose subtle and swinging vibe playing adds a vital additional dimension, "The Kicker" contains two classic Joe Henderson originals - the title track "The Kicker" and "Step Lightly". Add to this Duke Pearson's "Bedouin", Bobby Hutcherson's own "For Duke P" and Joe Chambers' classic "Mirrors" together with the Lerner and Loewe standard "If Ever I Would Leave You" and the scene is set for a seldom recognised classic.

The personnel is the same as for Grant Green's successful "Idle Moments", recorded one month earlier in November 1963. Perhaps more significantly, both Joe Henderson and Bob Cranshaw are back in the same studio (The Van Gelder studio at Englewood Cliffs) just eight days after being there for the recording of Lee Morgan's "The Sidewinder".

Mysteriously this seminal album was not released by Blue Note at the time and was finally only made available as a limited edition 36 years later in 1999!

Side 1 (the first three tracks) is close to the"Idle Moments" feel. Joe Chambers' "Mirrors" is a laid back ballad which achieved its first release on Freddie Hubbard's album "Breaking Point". Joe Henderson's sax playing is remarkable for the understanding shown in adding just the barest contribution that colours the performance but leaves the spotlight where it belongs - on Bobby Hutcherson's subtle and evocative vibe playing.

The feel and scope of "Mirrors" neatly complements the opening track, a long (10 minute) exposition of 'If Ever I Would Leave You" which had started life as one of the songs in the musical "Camelot". Starting as the most conventional sounding jazzed up version of a show tune, the playing gradually evolves via Joe Henderson's great playing and then Bobby Hutcherson's introduction of added depth via the vibes into a thorough deconstruction of the harmonic and rythmic simplicity of the original and its rebuilding into new entity all of its own - a relaxed and good natured version, perhaps, of John Coltrane's more fiery and uncompromising deconstruction of show tunes.

The groove achieved with Hutcherson, Henderson and Duke Pearson (later to become Blue Note's musical director) is deep indeed with Bill Cranshaw and Al Harewood providing excellent rhythm support. This continues with Hutcherson's "For Duke P", which is named after Pearson but left in the vault unamed until its 1999 release. There is plenty of scope when surrounded by such perceptive players for Hutcherson's improvisation to stretch out while Henderson is as inspirational as ever.

Side 2 (tracks 4-6) adds Grant Green to make the group into a six-piece. "The Kicker", which went on to become a Joe Henderson staple, is featured here for the first time. Its assymetric rhythm is at first disconcerting and it seems as if the performance is always on the edge and about to topple over yet the whole performance flows, suggesting that some of the danger and risk taking of the early Dial and Savoy sessions served up by Miles Davis and Charlie Parker can be recovered in jazz as it matures and progresses.

The second Henderson composition, "Step Lightly", is a personal favourite; a fourteen minute blues based workout that seems to move on and up and on and up. Nothing short of inspirational. The ultimate in the "cool cat" take on jazz; open, generous, thoroughly uplifting.

The final track features the Duke Pearson composition "Bedouin" which rounds of the album very well.

Overall, a fine example of open-handed, blues based jazz; released as a limited edition in the Blue Note "Connoisseur CD series" and well worth searching for.

Personnel:
Bobby Hutcherson (vibraphone)
Joe Henderson (tenor sax)
Grant Green (guitar, tracks 4 - 6)
Duke Pearson (piano)
Bob Cranshaw (bass)
Al Harewood (drums)

Recorded on December 29th, 1963

Tracks:
1. If Ever I Would Leave You [Lerner, Loewe] 10:32
2. Mirrors [Chambers] 6:51
3. For Duke P. [Hutcherson] 7:53
4. The Kicker [Henderson] 6:05
5. Step Lightly [Henderson] 14:17
6. Bedouin [Pearson] 8:11

?Space Strike? is an action-heavy ?shoot-em-all? space arcade that challenges players to destroy the onslaught of aliens before they wreak havoc on humankind. The game takes players to the year of 2307. It is 50 years since the humans learned to enhance the environment of planets and 15 years since they have started to colonize the Moon. A few hours ago the radars detected a hostile presence within an unexplored area. This is where you step in.

Assuming the role of a spaceship pilot, you must unleash the fury of an awesome high-tech arsenal that includes impulse guns, quantum lasers, heat-seeking missiles, and much more in order to survive and blast away at alien invaders. You must destroy the alien spacecrafts, tanks, ground facilities and avoid enemy fire by maneuvering out of sticky situations.

As usual, you begin the game weak and ill-equipped, but over time collect high-tech weaponry and upgrades. While taking on 20 challenging missions across 5 environments, you?ll face many alien types. They range from alien fighter jets to flying insect-like vehicles to ground artillery, tanks and two super powerful bosses. And this is just a taste of what?s to come as you explore the game!

The combat action is intense, and you won?t even have time to pay attention to the visuals, but ?Space Strike? is one gorgeous game, from the laser shoot-outs and explosions when another alien fighter is down to the stunning special effects when battling giant bosses.

The game features Divo Rating system that allows players to share high scores all over the world.


Game features
20 challenging missions
5 different landscape types
Extraordinarily addictive game play
Original soundtrack and powerful sound effects
Divo Rating system allowing players to share high-scores all over the world
100% pure ACTION!



System Req.
? OS: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista
? RAM: 128Mb
? CPU: 400MHz
? 100% DirectX 8 compliant sound card

?Space Strike? is an action-heavy ?shoot-em-all? space arcade that challenges players to destroy the onslaught of aliens before they wreak havoc on humankind. The game takes players to the year of 2307. It is 50 years since the humans learned to enhance the environment of planets and 15 years since they have started to colonize the Moon. A few hours ago the radars detected a hostile presence within an unexplored area. This is where you step in.

Assuming the role of a spaceship pilot, you must unleash the fury of an awesome high-tech arsenal that includes impulse guns, quantum lasers, heat-seeking missiles, and much more in order to survive and blast away at alien invaders. You must destroy the alien spacecrafts, tanks, ground facilities and avoid enemy fire by maneuvering out of sticky situations.

As usual, you begin the game weak and ill-equipped, but over time collect high-tech weaponry and upgrades. While taking on 20 challenging missions across 5 environments, you?ll face many alien types. They range from alien fighter jets to flying insect-like vehicles to ground artillery, tanks and two super powerful bosses. And this is just a taste of what?s to come as you explore the game!

The combat action is intense, and you won?t even have time to pay attention to the visuals, but ?Space Strike? is one gorgeous game, from the laser shoot-outs and explosions when another alien fighter is down to the stunning special effects when battling giant bosses.

The game features Divo Rating system that allows players to share high scores all over the world.


Game features
20 challenging missions
5 different landscape types
Extraordinarily addictive game play
Original soundtrack and powerful sound effects
Divo Rating system allowing players to share high-scores all over the world
100% pure ACTION!



System Req.
? OS: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista
? RAM: 128Mb
? CPU: 400MHz
? 100% DirectX 8 compliant sound card