Birds and Ballads is a jazz album recorded under the leadership of Johnny Griffin

Johnny Griffin

John Arnold Griffin III was an American bop and hard bop tenor saxophonist.- Early life and career :Griffin studied music at DuSable High School in Chicago under Walter Dyett, starting out on clarinet before moving on to oboe and then alto sax...

, released in 1978.

Players include Art Pepper

Art Pepper

Art Pepper , born Arthur Edward Pepper, Jr., was an American alto saxophonist and clarinetist.About Pepper, Scott Yanow of All Music stated, "In the 1950s he was one of the few altoists that was able to develop his own sound despite the dominant influence of Charlie Parker" and: "When Art Pepper...

, John Klemmer

John Klemmer

John Klemmer is an American saxophonist, composer, song writer and arranger.He was born in Chicago, Illinois and began playing guitar at age 5 and alto saxophone at age 11. His other early interests included graphics and visual art, writing, dance, puppetry, painting, sculpting and poetry...

, Joe Farrell

Joe Farrell

Joseph Carl Firrantello , known as Joe Farrell, was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. He is best known for a series of albums under his own name on the CTI record label and for playing in the initial incarnation of Chick Corea's Return to Forever.-Biography:Farrell was born in Chicago...

, Joe Henderson

Joe Henderson

Joe Henderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than forty years Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent labels, including Blue Note.-Early life:From a very large family with five sisters and nine...

, Harold Land

Harold Land

Harold de Vance Land was an American hard bop and post-bop tenor saxophonist. Land developed his hard bop playing with the Max Roach/Clifford Brown band into a personal, modern style. His tone was strong and emotional, yet displayed a certain fragility that made him easy to...

, and the rhythm section featuring Stanley Cowell

Stanley Cowell

Stanley Cowell is an American jazz pianist and founder of the Strata-East Records label. He played with Roland Kirk while studying at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and later with Marion Brown, Max Roach, Bobby Hutcherson, Clifford Jordan, Harold Land, Sonny Rollins and Stan Getz...

, Roy Haynes, Cecil McBee

Cecil McBee

Cecil McBee is an American post bop jazz bassist, described by the Guinness Who's Who of Jazz as "a full-toned bassist who creates rich, singing phrases in a wide range of contemporary jazz contexts." Allmusic called him "One of post-bop's most advanced and versatile bassists".-Biography:McBee...

 and John Heard.

Four of the album's eight songs are compositions by Charlie Parker

Charlie Parker

Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....

, also known as "Bird", while the remaining four are ballad

Ballad

A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...

s.

According to the liner notes, Griffin's playing is like "giving free lessons on the gentle arts of relaxation, saxophone technique, deep-seated emotional intensity and a host of other important elements to thousands of listeners in Paris, London, Copenhagen and any other centers where jazz is appreciated."

The album was reissued on CD in 1990 on Fantasy Records

Fantasy Records

Fantasy Records is a United States-based record label that was founded by Max and Sol Weiss in 1949 in San Francisco, California. They had previously operated a record-pressing plant called Circle Record Company before forming the Fantasy label...

.

Tracklisting

1. "Billie's Bounce
   Billie's Bounce
   "Billie's Bounce" also known as "Bill's Bounce", is a jazz composition written in 1945 by Charlie Parker in the form of an 12 bar F blues. It was dedicated to Billy Shaw by the Yardbird. The original recording by Charlie Parker and His Re-Boppers was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002.....
   
   "
2. "'Round Midnight
   'Round Midnight (song)
   Round Midnight" is a 1944 jazz standard by pianist Thelonious Monk. Jazz artists Cootie Williams, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Pepper, and Miles Davis have further embellished the song, with songwriter Bernie Hanighen adding lyrics...
   
   "
3. "Confirmation
   Confirmation (composition)
   "Confirmation" is a bebop standard composed by saxophonist Charlie Parker in 1946. It is known as a challenging number due to its long, complex head and rapid chord changes, which feature an extended cycle of fifths ....
   
   "
4. "Yardbird Suite
   Yardbird Suite
   Yardbird Suite is a bebop standard composed by Charlie Parker in 1946. It follows an AABA form. It was used as the title of Lawrence O. Koch's biography of Parker....
   
   "
5. "Over the Rainbow
   Over the Rainbow
   "Over the Rainbow" is a classic Academy Award-winning ballad song with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg. It was written for the movie The Wizard of Oz, and was sung by Judy Garland in the movie...
   
   "
6. "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
   Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
   "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" is a show tune written by American composer Jerome Kern and lyricist Otto Harbach for their 1933 operetta Roberta. It was originally recorded by Gertrude Niesen, on 13 October 1933 on the Victor label 24454. It was performed by Irene Dunne for the 1935 film adaptation,...
   
   "
7. "Good Morning Heartache
   Good Morning Heartache
   "Good Morning Heartache" is a song written by Irene Higgenbotham, Ervin Drake, and Dan Fisher. Originally recorded by jazz singer Billie Holiday on January 22, 1946.-About the songwriters:...
   
   "