Johnny Griffin

Johnny Griffin ranks among jazz's foremost tenor saxophonists, celebrated for his command of intricate harmonic progressions and brisk tempos associated with modern idioms. He likewise distinguished himself as an interpreter of introspective ballads, standing alongside Ben Webster in expressive depth.

Born John Arnold Griffin III on April 24, 1928, in Chicago, Illinois, he grew up on the South Side with a mother who sang and a father who played cornet. As a teenager Griffin listened to Gene Ammons with King Kolax's orchestra. Two years later he took up alto saxophone and soon performed with blues guitarist T-Bone Walker. At DuSable High School he studied under the renowned band director Captain Walter Dyett. After graduation he joined Lionel Hampton's big band, switched to tenor saxophone, and settled in New York City.

During the late 1940s Griffin played R&B with Joe Morris through 1950 and with Arnett Cobb in 1951. He then served in the Army in Hawaii, performing with a military band. Following his discharge he returned to Chicago and appeared with Thelonious Monk's groups into the mid-1960s. In 1958 Griffin issued his Blue Note debut, Introducing Johnny Griffin, and formed a sextet that included Detroit musicians Pepper Adams and Donald Byrd. He worked with pianists Bud Powell and Elmo Hope, spent a brief period with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, advanced his solo career on Riverside, and acquired the nickname "The Little Giant" through the 1959 album of that title. His most prominent partnership was with saxophonist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis; he also participated in the landmark Blue Note date A Blowin' Session alongside John Coltrane and Hank Mobley.

Finding little support for jazz in the United States, Griffin moved abroad and lived in Paris, France, from 1963 onward. There he recorded extensively with European rhythm sections for Storyville, Black Lion, and SteepleChase. He became a founding member and longtime featured soloist in the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band, which united American and European players. In 1975 he performed with the orchestras of Dizzy Gillespie and Count Basie, appearances preserved on recordings from the Montreux Jazz Festival, and collaborated with German saxophonist Klaus Doldinger's fusion ensemble Passport.

During the late 1970s Griffin returned to the States to record for Galaxy and toured with fellow expatriate tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon. He later left Paris for a farm in the Dutch countryside, relocated to the Côte d'Azur in 1980, and settled in rural Availles-Limouzine in 1984. In 1986 he joined the Paris Reunion Band with Woody Shaw, Dizzy Reece, Slide Hampton, and Kenny Drew, producing one album for Sonet. While residing in France he also recorded for Antilles and Verve, releasing The Cat in 1991 and Chicago, New York, Paris in 1994.

Each year around his birthday Griffin appeared regularly at Chicago's Jazz Showcase. In later years he worked with pianist Martial Solal and saxophonist Steve Grossman. He died at age 80 on July 25, 2008, in Mauprévoir.