Johnny Griffin - 80th Birthday Party

The ‘Little Giant’ returns to his old musical Haunting Ground…an international Sax legend.

Ronnie Scott's is honoured to welcome a member of jazz's elite; bop and hard-bop tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin plays these exclusive shows at the club a month after celebrating his 80th birthday. His musical pedigree is in part evidenced by his playing with Lionel Hampton, Art Blakey, Thelonious Monk, Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis, Nat Adderley, Wes Montgomery, Wynton Kelly, Max Roach, John Coltrane and many others, but he is a hugely influential member of the jazz fraternity himself. He is well known for playing fast, his burning solos and furiously nimble runs anchored by an amazingly well-informed and complete grasp of melody and harmony, marking him out as one of the greatest tenor sax players ever to have played. These gigs will also serve as a book launch for The Little Giant - The Story of Johnny Griffin written by Mike Hennessey. In addition to this Johnny Griffin brings with him a truly remarkable band. Bassist Reggie Johnson, Trumpeter Roy Hargrove, and in a very unusual context drum legend Billy Cobham.

Johnny Griffin (tenor sax), Roy Hargrove (trumpet), James Pearson (piano), Reggie Johnson (bass), Billy Cobham (drums)

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.

Click here to hear the man in action.