Jazz Articles about Johnny Griffin

like 285

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 – ...

like 350

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 ...

like 205

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 ...

like 208

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, ...

like 165

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 ...

like 221

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 ...

like 373

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 ...