johnny griffin
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Born on April 24, 1928 in Chicago, Johnny Griffin’s style has remained unchanged through his 50-year career: an aggressive attack, a sandpapery tone, and a blazing speed. At home with cutting contests and blowing sessions, he formed the “Tough Tenors” band with Lockjaw Davis so he could duel all night long. Now living in Europe with many albums to his credit, Johnny has now lost some of his tone but none of his competitive spirit. He is one of the last tenors working in this style … and one of the best ever.
Johnny Griffin started music at the age of six, learning the piano. He played clarinet in high school, then graduated to the sax family, primarily the alto. At a school dance in 1941, he saw the band of King Kolax, featuring the tenor of Gene Ammons. Once he heard Ammons play, Griffin said “That’s it!” He played a few weekend gigs with T-Bone Walker, and two months before he graduated high school, his music teacher asked him to play for Lionel Hampton. Hampton passed him up at the time, hiring Jay Peters – but when Peters was drafted in June, Lionel asked Griffin to join him. Absolutely delighted, Johnny grabbed his alto and met the band in Toledo … only to be told “you were hired to play tenor.” Griffin went home to Chicago, bought a tenor, and rejoined the group.
Griffin served in the Army in the early ‘Fifties; his unit was about to be sent to Korea when a colonel heard him playing and transferred him to an Army band. (Johnny believes that gesture may have saved his life.) On completing his service, Griffin was approached by Art Blakey, whom he had in the ‘Forties; he played for a year in the Jazz Messengers, including a memorable session with Thelonious Monk. Monk was so impressed that he hired Griffin, as a replacement John Coltrane. While Trane was in the band longer than Griffin, Johnny was recorded more often, thanks to some live sessions taped at New York’s Five Spot.
On the strength of his work with Monk, Griffin was offered a contract with Riverside Records, starting in 1957. While his basic style never changed, he was recorded in a wide variety of contexts: small groups, a bluesy big band, and an unusual group with two basses. (This album, called Change of Pace, was made around the same time as Coltrane’s two-bass experiments.) In 1960, when he formed his band with Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Davis was signed to Prestige Records – both labels claimed recording rights to the group. (It was settled by giving four albums each to both labels.) In 1963, Riverside asked Griffin to make a tour of Europe; he didn’t want to go, as all he knew was in New York. Nonetheless, he made the trip, and found expatriates like Bud Powell, Dexter Gordon, Kenny Drew, Sahib Shihab, and Ben Webster … all playing in the old style which was disappearing in the States. Griffin married a Dutch woman and chose to remain on the Continent.
Griffin has lived in Europe ever since; he plays America two weeks of every year, including a birthday party in Chicago. For a while he played in the Francy Boland -Kenny Clarke band, but normally tours now as a single, playing with local musicians of his choice. (He regularly played with Kenny Drew until Drew’s death in 1993.) He maintains an active touring and recording schedule, and is now writing large-scale works, including pieces for string orchestra. He is still the model for tough tenors everywhere.