Johnny Griffin
One of the all-time great tenor saxophonists, Johnny Griffin will go down in the annals of jazz as a performer easily able to negotiate the tricky harmonic changes and swift tempos of modern music. He'll also be remembered as a player who could masterfully interpret tender ballads, rivaling Ben Webster in that regard.
Born John Arnold Griffin III in Chicago, Illinois, on April 24, 1928, he resided on the South Side of the Second City with his mother, who was a singer, and father, who played cornet. An adolescent Griffin heard Gene Ammons play in the big band of King Kolax. Two years later he picked up an alto saxophone, and soon thereafter was working with bluesman T-Bone Walker. A student at DuSable High School, he was tutored by the legendary band director Captain Walter Dyett. Upon graduation, he toured with Lionel Hampton's big band, switched to the tenor sax, and moved to New York City. The late '40s saw Griffin honking his share of R&B with Joe Morris up to 1950, Joe Morris' band in 1950, and with Arnett Cobb in 1951. He enlisted in the armed services stationed in Hawaii and played in an Army band.
After his military commitment, he returned to Chicago and was in the company of Thelonious Monk's various ensembles up to the mid-'60s. Griffin cut his Blue Note album Introducing Johnny Griffin in 1958, and that year formed a sextet with Detroiters Pepper Adams and Donald Byrd. He collaborated with pianists Bud Powell and Elmo Hope, was briefly enlisted by Art Blakey as a member of the Jazz Messengers, energized his solo recording career for the Riverside label, and obtained his nickname, "The Little Giant," with that eponymously titled LP in 1959. His most famous and popular collaboration was with fellow saxophonist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis. Griffin also recorded the legendary A Blowin' Session for the Blue Note label with John Coltrane and Hank Mobley.
Griffin grew weary of the U.S. and its apathy regarding jazz, so he became an expatriate. He was living in Paris, France, by 1963 and made many albums with European rhythm sections for the Storyville, Black Lion, and SteepleChase labels. He was also a charter member and chief soloist for many years in the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band alongside American and Continental standouts. The year 1975 was an important one for Griffin, who was featured with the bands of Dizzy Gillespie and Count Basie, as documented in recordings of their sets at the Montreux Jazz Festival. He also collaborated with German saxophonist Klaus Doldinger and his fusion band Passport. In the late '70s, Griffin returned to the States to record for the Galaxy label, and toured with fellow expatriate tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon.
He left Paris for the countryside of the Netherlands to live on a farm, then headed to the Côte d'Azur in 1980, and in 1984 to rural Availles-Limouzine. In 1986 he was a member of the Paris Reunion Band with Woody Shaw, Dizzy Reece, Slide Hampton, and Kenny Drew, making one album for the Sonet label. During his time in France, Griffin recorded for the Antilles and Verve labels, including The Cat in 1991 and Chicago, New York, Paris in 1994. Often, during the week of his birthday, Griffin made regular appearances at the Jazz Showcase back home in Chicago. In his later years he collaborated with pianist Martial Solal and saxophonist Steve Grossman. Griffin passed away at age 80 on July 25, 2008, in Mauprévoir.
© Michael G. Nastos /TiVo
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Live at Ronnie Scott's, 1964
Be Bop - Editado por Gearbox Records Ltd el 10 nov. 2023
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Congregation (2006 Digital Remaster)
Jazz - Editado por Blue Note Records el 9 ago. 2021
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
A Blowing Session
Jazz - Editado por Blue Note Records el 1 feb. 1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Complete Recordings: 1956-1960
Jazz - Editado por Playtime el 17 mar. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Introducing Johnny Griffin (Rudy Van Gelder Edition / Remastered)
Jazz - Editado por Blue Note Records el 17 abr. 1956
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ballads By Five
Art Pepper, John Klemmer, Johnny Griffin, Joe Farrell, Joe Henderson
Jazz - Editado por Galaxy el 1 ene. 1981
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tough Tenors (Album Version)
Johnny Griffin, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Quintet
Jazz - Editado por FANTASY RECORDS el 1 ene. 1960
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Blue Note And Jazzland Collection
Jazz - Editado por ENLIGHTENMENT el 15 mar. 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
At Onkel Pö's Carnegie Hall, Hamburg 1975 (Live)
Johnny Griffin, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Quintet
Jazz - Editado por Jazzline el 3 nov. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Complete Recordings: 1960-1962
Jazz - Editado por Playtime el 17 mar. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Blowing Session (Remastered)
Jazz - Editado por Avid Entertainment el 3 ene. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Juste Amis (Live Montreal '87) (Live)
Alternativa & Indie - Editado por Wolf Tree el 1 sept. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stix' Trix (Mono Version)
Jazz - Editado por BNF Collection el 1 ene. 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
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The Tenor Scene
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Johnny Griffin
Jazz - Editado por Original Jazz Classics el 26 may. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Johnny Griffin Sextet (Instrumental)
Jazz - Editado por Original Jazz Classics el 25 feb. 1958
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Congregation (Expanded Edition)
Jazz - Editado por Blue Note Records el 13 oct. 1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Music From The Motion Picture: Between A Smile And A Tear
Jazz - Editado por Blue Saphir el 1 ene. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair
Jazz - Editado por Meron el 13 jun. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Take My Hand (Live)
Jazz - Editado por Good Time Records el 4 may. 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Introducing Johnny Griffin
Jazz - Editado por CoolNote el 1 ene. 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo