John Arnold Griffin III was born on April 24, 1928, and died on July 25, 2008. He was an American jazz tenor saxophonist known as "the Little Giant" because of his short height and strong playing style. Griffin started his music career in the mid-1940s and continued performing until the month he passed away. He was an important early musician in the hard bop style. Griffin recorded many songs as a bandleader. He also worked with pianist Thelonious Monk and drummer Art Blakey. He collaborated with tenor saxophonist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and was part of the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band after moving to Europe in the 1960s. In 1995, Griffin received an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music.
Early life and career
Johnny Griffin studied music at DuSable High School in Chicago under Walter Dyett. He began with the clarinet, then played the oboe, and later the alto saxophone. At age 15, while still in high school, he performed with T-Bone Walker in a band led by Walker's brother.
When he joined Lionel Hampton’s big band three days after graduating from high school, he played the alto saxophone. However, Hampton encouraged him to switch to the tenor saxophone and play alongside Arnett Cobb. At age 17, he made his first recording in Los Angeles with Hampton’s band in 1945.
By mid-1947, Griffin and fellow band member Joe Morris formed a sextet with local musicians, including George Freeman. He stayed with this group for two years, and his music can be heard on early rhythm and blues recordings for Atlantic Records. By 1951, he was playing the baritone saxophone in an R&B septet led by Arnett Cobb.
After returning to Chicago from two years in the Army, Griffin became known as one of the top saxophonists in the city. Thelonious Monk encouraged Orrin Keepnews of the Riverside label to sign Griffin, but Blue Note signed him first.
In 1957, Griffin joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. His recordings from this time include an album combining the Messengers and Thelonious Monk. He later replaced John Coltrane in Monk’s Five Spot quartet and can be heard on the albums Thelonious in Action and Misterioso.
Griffin’s style was based on advanced techniques and included a wide range of bebop music. He often used melodies from classical and operatic music. He was known for his skill and participated in musical competitions with other tenor players, such as Hank Mobley and Gene Ammons. He was also known for his fashion sense, business skills, and leadership as a bandleader.
Griffin’s first Blue Note album, Introducing Johnny Griffin, was released in 1956. It featured Wynton Kelly on piano, Curly Russell on bass, and Max Roach on drums. This recording earned him praise from critics.
The 1957 album A Blowin’ Session included John Coltrane and Hank Mobley. He also played with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in 1957 and with Thelonious Monk’s Sextet and Quartet in 1958. During this time, he recorded Serenade to a Bus Seat with Clark Terry and the rhythm trio of Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones.
In 1963, Griffin moved to France. He later moved to the Netherlands in 1978, where he settled in Bergambacht. This move was due to tax issues, a troubled marriage, and his frustration with how free jazz was being received in the United States, as journalist Ben Ratliff noted. He performed regularly at jazz clubs, such as London’s Ronnie Scott’s, and was often chosen as a saxophonist for visiting American musicians in Europe during the 1960s and 1970s.
In 1965, Griffin recorded albums with Wes Montgomery. He briefly rejoined Monk’s groups in 1967 and was part of the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band from 1967 to 1969.
Griffin and Miles Davis performed together again in 1970, recording Tough Tenors Again 'n' Again and later with Dizzy Gillespie’s Big 7 at the Montreux Jazz Festival. In the late 1970s, he recorded with Peter Herbolzheimer and His Big Band, which included musicians like Nat Adderley, Art Farmer, Stan Getz, and Quincy Jones.
He also recorded with the Nat Adderley Quintet in 1978, having previously worked with Adderley in 1958. In 1978, Griffin and Dexter Gordon returned to the United States and performed at the Ann Arbor Eclipse Jazz Festival before recording Live at Carnegie Hall.
Griffin’s final concert was in Hyères, France, on July 21, 2008. He passed away due to a heart attack on July 25, 2008, at the age of 80 in Mauprévoir, near Availles-Limouzine, France.