From the mid-1950s through to the mid-60s, it appeared that Blue Note, Prestige and Riverside labels all had easy access to the same selective pool of A1 repertory players either as sidemen or leaders.

Johnny Griffin who recorded much of his best material for all three New York-based independents, frequently gave the impression that he was in a great hurry and as with Tubby Hayes – with whom he shared the nickname ‘Little Giant’ – was often reluctant to hit the brakes preferring instead to kick down hard on the accelerator.

These two albums originally carried a Riverside imprint.

The Little Giant was a typical hard bop tear-up of the time with a line up of familiar reliable musicians. In contrast, perhaps in an effort to slow the sax man down Change Of Pace depicts Griffin fronting an unusual combination of Julius Watkins' wooly sounding French horn, two bass players (one bowed, the other plucked) and drums. Though Griffin could fit into most situations, here he sometimes gives a feeling of being somewhat impatient.