Johnny Griffin
Background information
Birth name	John Arnold Griffin III
Also known as	"Little Giant"
Born	April 24, 1928
Origin	Chicago, Illinois, USA
Genre(s)	Bop Hard Bop Post-bop
Occupation(s)	Saxophonist, Bandleader
Instrument(s)	Tenor saxophone
Label(s)	Blue Note Records
Associated acts	John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk

John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928) is an American bop and hard bop tenor saxophonist. Like many other successful musicians from Chicago, he studied music at DuSable High School under Walter Dyett, starting out on clarinet before moving on to oboe, alto sax and finally, shortly after joining Lionel Hampton's Orchestra, tenor sax. While still at high school, at 15 Griffin was playing alongside T-Bone Walker in a band led by Walker's brother. Before you can upload images you will need to register an account Only use this if you hold the copyright on the image. ... is the 114th day of the year (115th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... BOP or bop may refer to: bleeding on probing (used by Captain Jack) balance of payments an organised party or club night at the universities of Cambridge and Oxford Bebop, an early modern jazz developed in the 1940s Blowout preventer used in oil and gas drilling acronym for bird of... Hard bop is an extension of bebop (bop) music which incorporates influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano playing. ... Post-bop is a term for a form of small-combo jazz music that evolved in the early-to-mid sixties. ... A saxophonist is a musician who plays the saxophone. ... A bandleader is the director of a band of musicians. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff. ... John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967), nicknamed Trane, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. ... Thelonious Sphere Monk (October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was a jazz pianist and composer. ... is the 114th day of the year (115th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bebop is a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos and improvisation based on harmonic structure rather than melody. ... Hard bop is an extension of bebop (bop) music which incorporates influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano playing. ... A saxophonist is a musician who plays the saxophone. ... Nickname: Motto: “Urbs in Horto” (Latin: “City in a Garden”), “I Will” Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country United States State Illinois Counties Cook, DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... DuSable High School is a Bronzeville high school opened in 1934. ... Walter Henri Dyett (1901–1969) was an American violinist and music educator. ... Lionel Hampton with George W. Bush Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908, Louisville, Kentucky – August 31, 2002 New York City), was a jazz bandleader and percussionist. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ...

He worked in Lionel Hampton's Orchestra (first appearing on a Los Angeles recording in 1945, at the age of 17), leaving to join fellow Hampton band member Joe Morris's Orchestra from 1947 to 1949. He played with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers for a few months in 1957, and in the Thelonious Monk Sextet and Quartet (1958). He rejoined Monk in the Octet and Nonet in 1967. He also recorded with the Nat Adderley Quintet in 1958 and again in 1978. Joe Morris (1922–1958) was an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter and bandleader. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Thelonious Sphere Monk (October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was a jazz pianist and composer. ... Nathaniel Adderley (November 25, 1931 - January 2, 2000) was an American jazz cornetist who played in the hard bop and soul jazz genres. ...

As a leader of his own band, his 1956 Blue Note recording Introducing Johnny Griffin, which also featured Wynton Kelly on piano, Curly Russell on bass and Max Roach on drums, brought him critical acclaim. Having felt he had achieved much in the USA, his pinnacle on record arguably the 1957 Blue Note album A Blowing Session with fellow tenor John Coltrane, he moved to Europe, and was the "first choice" sax player for visiting US musicians touring the continent. Wynton Kelly (1931–1971) was an American jazz pianist, born in Jamaica. ... Curly Russell (19th March 1917 - 3rd July 1986) was an American jazz musician, who played bass on many bebop recordings. ... Jazz in 3/4 time cover released in 1957 on EmArcy Maxwell Lemuel Roach (born January 10, 1924) is a percussionist, drummer, and jazz composer. ... In jazz and blues notes added to the major scale for expressive quality, loosely defined by musicians to be an alteration to a scale or chord that makes it sound like the blues. ... John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967), nicknamed Trane, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. ...

From 1960 to 1962 he and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis led their own quintet, recording several albums together. They met up again in 1970 and recorded Tough Tenors Again 'n' Again, and again with the Dizzy Gillespie Big 7 at the Montreux Jazz Festival. In 1965 he recorded some albums with Wes Montgomery. From 1967 to 1969, he formed part of the Kenny Clarke - Francy Boland Big Band. Edward Davis (March 2, 1922–November 3, 1986), who performed and recorded as Eddie Lockjaw Davis, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. ... John Birks Dizzy Gillespie (October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was born in Cheraw, South Carolina. ... The Montreux Jazz Festival is the best-known music festival in Switzerland. ... John Leslie Wes Montgomery was an African-American jazz guitarist. ... Kenny Clarke (born January 9, 1914 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania-died January 26, 1985 in Paris, France) was a jazz drummer and an early innovator of the bebop style of drumming. ... François Boland(born November 6, 1929 in Namur Belgium; died August 12, 2005 in Geneva) was a classically trained Belgian jazz composer and pianist. ...

He went to live in France in 1963, moving to the Netherlands in 1978, and he still continues to record and tour. Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ...

Griffin was reputed to be the 'World's Fastest Saxophonist' in the jazz idiom, though as he aged, and as the jazz audience declined, this accolade has all but disappeared. This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

Selected discography

• Introducing Johnny Griffin (1956)
• A Blowin' Session (1957)
• The Congregation (1957)
• Johnny Griffin Sextet (1958)
• The Big Soul Band (1960)
• White Gardenia (1961; Riverside Records)
• The Kerry Dancers and Other Swinging Folk (1961)
• Tough Tenor Favourites (1962)
• Grab This! (1962)
• The Man I Love (1967)
• Tough Tenors Again 'n' Again, with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis (1970)
• Bush Dance (1978)

Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Incredible Jazz Guitar Of Wes Montgomery, a 1960 Riverside release. ... Year 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... Edward Davis (March 2, 1922 - November 3, 1986), who performed and recorded as Eddie Lockjaw Davis, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ...

Quotations

'I like to play fast. I get excited, and I have to sort of control myself, restrain myself. But when the rhythm section gets cooking, I want to 'explode'.

External links

• Johnny Griffin on The Hard Bop Homepage

• Discography