Jazz Articles about Johnny Griffin

Johnny Griffin, Steve Grossman: Johnny Griffin & Steve Grossman Quintet

by AAJ Staff
April 1, 2001

Even though Johnny Griffin has steadfastly chosen to remain in Europe since 1963, his recorded output remains steady and, as always, invigorating, thanks to Dreyfus Jazz. Fast on the heels of Griffin's Grammy-nominated collaboration with piano great Martial Solal, Griffin once again is paired with an interesting counterpart, this time fellow tenor saxman Steve Grossman. Even though he grew up and was educated in the United States, Grossman now is resident of Europe as well.Last year, Griffin journeyed ...

Johnny Griffin/Steve Grossman: Griffin & Grossman Quintet

by Mark Corroto
April 1, 2001

The welcome return of the fire-breathing bebop tenor saxophonist is well, music to my ears. Ex-patriot saxophonists Johnny Griffin and Steve Grossman team up for an old fashioned blowing session. This date recorded for the French label, Dreyfus Records, calls to mind Griffin’s legendary recording date A Blowing Session with John Coltrane and Hank Mobley in 1957. Recorded in the days when musicians arrived in town looking for an after-hours cutting contest to prove themselves and develop their skills. Griffin, ...

Johnny Griffin & Martial Solal: In & Out

by AAJ Staff
July 1, 2000

One would think from a provincial American perspective that Johnny Griffin and Martial Solal would have performed together numerous times, let alone having recorded frequently. After all, they're European, aren't they?Alas, such is not the case. Griffin and Solal have performed together only two or three times. They have recorded together never. Until now. That's what makes “In & Out" an instantly classic recording, and one of the more masterfully performed of the year, no doubt.Exhibiting ...

Johnny Griffin: Setting the Pace

by Derek Taylor
January 1, 2000

Most follwers of Griffin’s robust tenor sound don’t regard the man who was widely regarded at various times as the ‘Little Giant,” “The Cat” and “the fastest tenor on the scene” as a boundary stretching modernist. He did serve a memorable stint in Monk’s quartet, delivering an angular urgency that complimented the pianist’s idiosyncratic style, but few would include him among the numbers of saxophonists who have flirted with the experimental fringes of jazz.

This Riverside reissue presents a persuasive ...

Johnny Griffin: Griff 'n' Bags

by Douglas Payne
June 1, 1999

Well, not quite. Chicago tenor great Johnny ("Griff") Griffin is heard on five tunes and Milt ("Bags") Jackson, whose intention was to reunite with fellow MJQ founder Kenny Clarke for a Clarke-Boland Big Band project that never materialized, is heard on five different tunes.Despite slightly inaccurate labeling and packaging that doesn't explain itself until you open it, Griff 'n' Bags is an excellent collection of four Francy Boland-Jimmy Woode-Kenny Clarke sessions recorded between 1967 and 1969. The 16 ...

Johnny Griffin: Live/Autumn Leaves

by John Sharpe
April 1, 1998

Back in the heyday of bop, Griffin earned a reputation as “the world's fastest saxophonist." Judging by the breakneck tempo he sets on this CD's title cut, you'd think he was trying to hold on to that moniker! Recorded in Paris in 1981, Live showcases Griffin, pianist Ronnie Mathews, bassist Ray Drummond and drummer Kenny Washington performing 3 standards and 2 originals that give the “little giant" plenty of room to blow. I don't think anyone has plowed through “Autumn ...