Jazz Articles about Johnny Griffin

Johnny Griffin: The Best Of Johnny Griffin

by Martin Gladu
July 4, 2009

If big things often come in small packages, then Johnny Griffin's case as one of the music's top “tough tenors" really need not be plead. Affectionately nicknamed “Lil' Giant" for his diminutive stature, the late saxophonist was all but diminutive came time to rip through changes and defend his title--as would a proud, prized champion--as the fastest saxophonist roaming the nightclub circuit.

An explosive soloist indeed reputed for his incendiary chops and hearty tone, many often overlook the ...

Johnny Griffin: The Congregation

by Samuel Chell
April 18, 2007

A highly regarded recording in the impressive discography of Johnny Griffin, this recently remastered RVG edition of The Congregation is more likely to appeal to the faithful than win many new converts. On this 1957 session, the “world's fastest tenor sets aside his gun-slinging ways in favor of comparatively restrained, straightforward preaching, consisting of some basic, rather predictable harmonic-rhythmic rhetoric and, of course, that distinctive sound.

Griffin's ample and slow Leslie-like vibrato is somewhat reminiscent of ...

Bush Dance & Pisces

by Russ Musto
June 6, 2005

These two new discs present three excellent Griffin sessions, one each from the '60's, '70s and '80s, documenting various aspects of his mastery of the tenor saxophone and the jazz idiom in remarkably diverse settings. Bush Dance combines a 1978 all-star date featuring the stellar rhythm section of pianist Cedar Walton, bassist Sam Jones and drummer Albert “Tootie Heath plus percussionist Kenneth Nash and special guest guitarist George Freeman, from which the disc takes its title, along with 1983's Call ...

Johnny Griffin & Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis: Pisces

by Derek Taylor
November 14, 2004

The early '60s was a golden age for tenor tandems. Towering team-ups like Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt, Zoot Sims and Al Cohn, and Eddie “Lockjaw" Davis and Johnny Griffin were illustrative of the Zeitgeist. Such a simple formula, joining the talents of two titans on that most popular of jazz horns, but it's one that consistently yielded both artistic and financial profit. For a time the partnership of Davis and Griffin stood at the front of the pack.

Johnny Griffin: Johnny Griffin

by David Rickert
September 15, 2004

Johnny Griffin was a bop-influenced player who was capable of handling the rigors of both Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and a stint with Thelonious Monk. Often given credit as the world's fastest tenor player (at least for a time), Griffin enjoyed a good tenor battle as much as the next guy, but he also could deliver a solid quartet album such as this one.1956's Johnny Griffin is pretty typical mid-fifties fare: a few standards, a couple of originals, ...

Johnny Griffin & Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Quintet: Tough Tenors

by David Rickert
November 1, 2003

The appeal of a good cutting session is similar to that of a good boxing match: we all enjoy watching two competitors locked in combat, pushing themselves to new boundaries and discovering untapped resources. Johnny Griffin and Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis went so far as to establish a quintet which allowed them repeated opportunities to duke it out over a series of recording sessions and club dates.

1960's Tough Tenors is their first meeting on record, and – ...

Johnny Griffin: And the Great Danes

by Derek Taylor
February 25, 2003

For the better part of four decades, Northern Europe has been something of a second home to Johnny Griffin. Following the lead of his peers, the saxophonist immigrated to Paris in the early '60s and later moved to the Netherlands in the early '70s. The life of the expatriate jazz musician has been his preferred lot ever since. For these reasons and for the simple love of the music, this pairing with a Danish quartet makes perfect sense. Griff is ...