Johnny Griffin
Encyclopedia
John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American
bop
and hard bop
tenor saxophonist.
in Chicago
under Walter Dyett
, starting out on clarinet before moving on to oboe and then alto sax. While still at high school at age 15, Griffin was playing with T-Bone Walker
in a band led by Walker's brother.
Alto sax was still his instrument of choice when he joined Lionel Hampton's big band three days after his high school graduation, but Hampton encouraged him to take up the tenor, playing alongside Arnett Cobb
. He first appeared on a Los Angeles recording with Hampton's band in 1945 at the age of 17.
By mid-1947, Griffin and fellow Hampton band member Joe Morris
had formed a sextet made up of local musicians, including George Freeman
, where he remained for the next two years. His playing can be heard on various early Rhythm and Blues recordings for Atlantic Records. By 1951 Griffin was playing baritone sax in an R&B sextet led by former bandmate Arnett Cobb.
After returning to Chicago from two years in the Army, Griffin began establishing a reputation as one of the premiere saxophonists in that city. Thelonious Monk
enthusiastically encouraged Orrin Keepnews
of Riverside Records
to sign the young tenor, but before he could act Blue Note Records
had signed Griffin.
He joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in 1957, and his recordings from that time include a memorable album joining together the Messengers and Thelonious Monk. Griffin then succeeded John Coltrane
as a member of Monk's Five Spot quartet; he can be heard on the albums Thelonious in Action
and Misterioso.
album Introducing Johnny Griffin in 1956. Also featuring Wynton Kelly
on piano, Curly Russell on bass and Max Roach
on drums, the recording brought Griffin critical acclaim.
A 1957 Blue Note
album A Blowin' Session featured him with fellow tenor players John Coltrane
and Hank Mobley
. He played with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers
for a few months in 1957, and in the Thelonious Monk
Sextet and Quartet (1958). During this period, he recorded a set with Clark Terry
on Serenade To a Bus Seat featuring the rhythm trio of Wynton Kelly
, Paul Chambers
, and Philly Joe Jones
.
At this stage in his career, Griffin was known as the "fastest tenor in the west", for the ease with which he could execute fast note runs with excellent intonation. Subsequent to his three albums for Blue Note, Griffin did not get along with the label's house engineer Rudy Van Gelder
, he recorded for Riverside Records
. From 1960 to 1962 he and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
led their own quintet, recording several albums together.
in 1963, moving to the Netherlands
in 1978. Apart from appearing regularly under his own name at jazz clubs such as London's Ronnie Scott's, Griffin became the "first choice" sax player for visiting US musicians touring the continent during the 60s and 70s. He briefly rejoined Monk's groups (an Octet and Nonet) in 1967.
Griffin and Davis met up again in 1970 and recorded Tough Tenors Again 'n' Again, and again with the Dizzy Gillespie
Big 7 at the Montreux Jazz Festival
. In 1965 he recorded some albums with Wes Montgomery
. From 1967 to 1969, he formed part of The Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band
, and in the late 70s, recorded with Peter Herbolzheimer
And His Big Band, which also included, among others, Nat Adderley
, Derek Watkins
, Art Farmer
, Slide Hampton
, Jiggs Whigham
, Herb Geller
, Wilton Gaynair
, Stan Getz
, Gerry Mulligan
, Rita Reys
, Jean "Toots" Thielemans, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen
, Grady Tate
, and Quincy Jones
as arranger. He also recorded with the Nat Adderley
Quintet in 1978, having previously recorded with Adderley in 1958.
On July 25, 2008, Johnny Griffin died of a heart attack at the age of 80 in Mauprévoir
, near Availles-Limouzine
, France. He had lived there for the past 24 years. His last concert, July 21, 2008 was played in Hyères, France.
With Art Blakey
With Tadd Dameron
With Bennie Green
With Blue Mitchell
With Wilbur Ware
With Bud Powell
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
bop
Bebop
Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...
and hard bop
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
tenor saxophonist.
Early life and career
Griffin studied music at DuSable High SchoolDuSable High School
DuSable High School was a public high school in Chicago opened in the Bronzeville neighborhood in 1934. It was named after Chicago's first permanent non-native settler, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. DuSable was built to accommodate the growing Phillips High School in the 1930s. The campus was...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
under Walter Dyett
Walter Dyett
Walter Henri Dyett was an American violinist and music educator. As musical director at DuSable High School in Chicago, he trained many students who went on to become well-known musicians.- Career :...
, starting out on clarinet before moving on to oboe and then alto sax. While still at high school at age 15, Griffin was playing with T-Bone Walker
T-Bone Walker
Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker was a critically acclaimed American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who was one of the most influential pioneers and innovators of the jump blues and electric blues sound. He is the first musician recorded playing blues with the...
in a band led by Walker's brother.
Alto sax was still his instrument of choice when he joined Lionel Hampton's big band three days after his high school graduation, but Hampton encouraged him to take up the tenor, playing alongside Arnett Cobb
Arnett Cobb
Arnett Cobb was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Cobb was born Arnette Cleophus Cobbs in Houston, Texas. His musical career began with the local bands of Chester Boone, from 1934 to 1936, and Milt Larkin, from 1936 to 1942...
. He first appeared on a Los Angeles recording with Hampton's band in 1945 at the age of 17.
By mid-1947, Griffin and fellow Hampton band member Joe Morris
Joe Morris (trumpeter)
Joe Morris was an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter and bandleader.Born in Montgomery, Alabama, United States, Morris began his career as a jazz trumpeter, working and recording with Earl Bostic, Milt Buckner, Arnett Cobb, Dizzy Gillespie, Johnny Griffin, Buddy Rich, Dinah Washington,...
had formed a sextet made up of local musicians, including George Freeman
George Freeman (guitarist)
George Freeman is an American jazz guitarist. He was born on Apr 10, 1927 in Chicago, Illinois.By mid-1947, Freeman was a member of a sextet led by Johnny Griffin and Joe Morris and supporting touring musicians such as Lester Young and Charlie Parker...
, where he remained for the next two years. His playing can be heard on various early Rhythm and Blues recordings for Atlantic Records. By 1951 Griffin was playing baritone sax in an R&B sextet led by former bandmate Arnett Cobb.
After returning to Chicago from two years in the Army, Griffin began establishing a reputation as one of the premiere saxophonists in that city. Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
enthusiastically encouraged Orrin Keepnews
Orrin Keepnews
Orrin Keepnews is an American writer and jazz record producer. In June 2010, he received a lifetime achievement award from the National Endowment for the Arts.- Career :...
of Riverside Records
Riverside Records
Riverside Records was a United States record label specializing in jazz. Founded by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer under his firm Bill Grauer Productions, Inc. in 1953, the label was a major presence in the jazz record industry for a decade...
to sign the young tenor, but before he could act Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
had signed Griffin.
He joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in 1957, and his recordings from that time include a memorable album joining together the Messengers and Thelonious Monk. Griffin then succeeded John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
as a member of Monk's Five Spot quartet; he can be heard on the albums Thelonious in Action
Thelonious in Action
Thelonious in Action: Recorded at the Five Spot Cafe is a 1958 album by jazz musician Thelonious Monk. Recorded live at the Five Spot Cafe it features Thelonious Monk , Johnny Griffin , Ahmed Abdul-Malik , and Roy Haynes ....
and Misterioso.
Recording career
Griffin was leader on his first Blue NoteBlue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
album Introducing Johnny Griffin in 1956. Also featuring Wynton Kelly
Wynton Kelly
Wynton Kelly was a Jamaican-born jazz pianist, who spent his career in the United States. He is perhaps best known for working with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1959-1962.-Biography:...
on piano, Curly Russell on bass and Max Roach
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel "Max" Roach was an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.A pioneer of bebop, Roach went on to work in many other styles of music, and is generally considered alongside the most important drummers in history...
on drums, the recording brought Griffin critical acclaim.
A 1957 Blue Note
Blue note
In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of the major scale for expressive purposes. Typically the alteration is a semitone or less, but this varies among performers and genres. Country blues, in particular, features wide variations from the...
album A Blowin' Session featured him with fellow tenor players John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
and Hank Mobley
Hank Mobley
Henry Mobley was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to describe his tone that was neither as aggressive as John Coltrane nor as mellow as Stan Getz...
. He played with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers
Art Blakey
Arthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
for a few months in 1957, and in the Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
Sextet and Quartet (1958). During this period, he recorded a set with Clark Terry
Clark Terry
Clark Terry is an American swing and bop trumpeter, a pioneer of the fluegelhorn in jazz, educator, NEA Jazz Masters inductee, and recipient of the 2010 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award...
on Serenade To a Bus Seat featuring the rhythm trio of Wynton Kelly
Wynton Kelly
Wynton Kelly was a Jamaican-born jazz pianist, who spent his career in the United States. He is perhaps best known for working with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1959-1962.-Biography:...
, Paul Chambers
Paul Chambers
Paul Laurence Dunbar Chambers, Jr. was a jazz bassist. A fixture of rhythm sections during the 1950s and 1960s, his importance in the development of jazz bass can be measured not only by the length and breadth of his work in this short period but also his impeccable time, intonation, and virtuosic...
, and Philly Joe Jones
Philly Joe Jones
Joseph Rudolph Jones was a Philadelphia-born United States jazz drummer, known as the drummer for the Miles Davis Quintet.Philly Joe Jones was often confused with another influential jazz drummer, Jo Jones...
.
At this stage in his career, Griffin was known as the "fastest tenor in the west", for the ease with which he could execute fast note runs with excellent intonation. Subsequent to his three albums for Blue Note, Griffin did not get along with the label's house engineer Rudy Van Gelder
Rudy Van Gelder
Rudy Van Gelder is an American recording engineer specializing in jazz.Often regarded as one of the most important recording engineers in music history, Van Gelder has recorded several thousand jazz sessions, including many widely recognized as classics, in a career spanning more than half a century...
, he recorded for Riverside Records
Riverside Records
Riverside Records was a United States record label specializing in jazz. Founded by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer under his firm Bill Grauer Productions, Inc. in 1953, the label was a major presence in the jazz record industry for a decade...
. From 1960 to 1962 he and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
Eddie Davis (saxophonist)
Edward Davis , who performed and recorded as Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.-Biography:...
led their own quintet, recording several albums together.
Move to Europe
He went to live in FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1963, moving to the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in 1978. Apart from appearing regularly under his own name at jazz clubs such as London's Ronnie Scott's, Griffin became the "first choice" sax player for visiting US musicians touring the continent during the 60s and 70s. He briefly rejoined Monk's groups (an Octet and Nonet) in 1967.
Griffin and Davis met up again in 1970 and recorded Tough Tenors Again 'n' Again, and again with the Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
Big 7 at the Montreux Jazz Festival
Montreux Jazz Festival
The Montreux Jazz Festival is the best-known music festival in Switzerland and one of the most prestigious in Europe; it is held annually in early July in Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva...
. In 1965 he recorded some albums with Wes Montgomery
Wes Montgomery
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. He is widely considered one of the major jazz guitarists, emerging after such seminal figures as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian and influencing countless others, including Pat Martino, George Benson, Russell Malone, Emily...
. From 1967 to 1969, he formed part of The Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band
The Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band
The Kenny Clarke–Francy Boland Big Band was one of the most noteworthy jazz big bands formed outside the United States.It was formed in 1961, when, with the help of producer Gigi Campi, the US drummer Kenny Clarke and Belgian pianist and composer Francy Boland and ex-Ellington bassist Jimmy Woode...
, and in the late 70s, recorded with Peter Herbolzheimer
Peter Herbolzheimer
Peter Herbolzheimer was a German jazz trombonist and bandleader.- Biography :Herbolzheimer was born in Bucharest and migrated from communist Romania to West Germany in 1951. In 1953 he moved to the United States of America, where he worked as a guitarist...
And His Big Band, which also included, among others, Nat Adderley
Nat Adderley
Nathaniel Adderley was an American jazz cornet and trumpet player who played in the hard bop and soul jazz genres. He was the brother of saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley....
, Derek Watkins
Derek Watkins (trumpeter)
Derek Watkins is a British trumpeter and session musician renowned for playing the trumpet and flugelhorn...
, Art Farmer
Art Farmer
Arthur Stewart "Art" Farmer was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet/flugelhorn combination designed for him by David Monette. His identical twin brother, Addison Farmer Arthur Stewart "Art" Farmer (August 21, 1928, Council Bluffs, Iowa –...
, Slide Hampton
Slide Hampton
Locksley Wellington "Slide" Hampton is an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger.He was a 1998 Grammy Award winner for "Best Jazz Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist", as arranger for "Cotton Tail" performed by Dee Dee Bridgewater...
, Jiggs Whigham
Jiggs Whigham
Jiggs Whigham is an American jazz trombonist living in Europe.Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he began his professional career at age 17, joining the Glenn Miller/Ray Mckinley orchestra in 1961...
, Herb Geller
Herb Geller
Herb Geller , is an American jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger.His musical abilities could have been inherited from his mother, Francis. She worked at the Hollywood neighbourhood cinemas playing piano, accompanying silent movies...
, Wilton Gaynair
Wilton Gaynair
Wilton 'Bogey' Gaynair was a jazz musician, whose primary instrument was the tenor saxophone...
, Stan Getz
Stan Getz
Stanley Getz was an American jazz saxophone player. Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Scott...
, Gerry Mulligan
Gerry Mulligan
Gerald Joseph "Gerry" Mulligan was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though Mulligan is primarily known as one of the leading baritone saxophonists in jazz history – playing the instrument with a light and airy tone in the era of cool jazz – he was also...
, Rita Reys
Rita Reys
Rita Reys is a jazz singer from the Netherlands.At the 1960 jazz festival of Juan Les Pins , she received the title 'Europe’s first lady of jazz'.-Early career:...
, Jean "Toots" Thielemans, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen
Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen
- Discography :* My Name Is Albert Ayler 1963 * Kirk in Copenhagen 1963 * Ben Webster in Denmark 1965-1971 Live at Danish Radio studios, Jazzhus Montmartre and Odd Fellow Palæet - Universal Music Denmark*One Flight Up 1964 *Sunday Walk 1969 - Discography :* My Name Is Albert Ayler 1963 (with...
, Grady Tate
Grady Tate
Grady Tate, , is a hard bop and soul-jazz drummer and singer.He has played with Lional Hampton, Jimmy Smith, Grant Green, Lena Horne, Astrud Gilberto, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Blossom Dearie, Chris Connor, Sarah Vaughan, Ray Charles, Cal Tjader, Peggy Lee, Bill Evans, Duke Ellington, Count...
, and Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
as arranger. He also recorded with the Nat Adderley
Nat Adderley
Nathaniel Adderley was an American jazz cornet and trumpet player who played in the hard bop and soul jazz genres. He was the brother of saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley....
Quintet in 1978, having previously recorded with Adderley in 1958.
On July 25, 2008, Johnny Griffin died of a heart attack at the age of 80 in Mauprévoir
Mauprévoir
Mauprévoir is a commune in the Vienne department in the Poitou-Charentes region in western France.-References:*...
, near Availles-Limouzine
Availles-Limouzine
Availles-Limouzine is a commune in the Vienne department in the Poitou-Charentes region in western France.-Geography:The Clouère flows northwestward through the western part of the commune, then forms its northwestern border....
, France. He had lived there for the past 24 years. His last concert, July 21, 2008 was played in Hyères, France.
As leader
- 1955: J. G. (Parrot, unreleased; released in 1958 by Argo)
- 1956: Introducing Johnny GriffinIntroducing Johnny GriffinIntroducing Johnny Griffin is the debut album by jazz tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin. It was recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's Hackensack studio on April 17, 1956.- Track listing :# "Mildew" - 3:56# "Chicago Calling" - 5:38...
(Blue Note) - 1957: A Blowing SessionA Blowing SessionA Blowin' Session is an album by jazz saxophonist Johnny Griffin, recorded and released in 1957 on Blue Note Records. The album is one of the earliest examples of John Coltrane as a sideman...
(Blue Note) - 1957: The CongregationThe Congregation (album)The Congregation is an album by American tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin recorded in 1957 and released on the Blue Note label. It would be his last work for the label...
(Blue Note) - 1958: Johnny Griffin SextetJohnny Griffin SextetJohnny Griffin Sextet is an album by jazz saxophonist Johnny Griffin and his all-star sextet, released on the Riverside label in 1958. It was Griffin's debut on Riverside, and was recorded the day before the Way Out! session dates.-Track listing:...
(Riverside) - 1958: Way Out! (Riverside)
- 1959: The Little GiantThe Little GiantThe Little Giant is an album by jazz saxophonist Johnny Griffin and his all-star sextet, released on the Riverside label in 1959. It was Griffin's third album on Riverside.-Track listing:#"Olive Refractions" - 4:17...
(Riverside) - 1960: The Big Soul-BandThe Big Soul-BandThe Big Soul-Band is an album by Johnny Griffin Orchestra, led by jazz saxophonist Johnny Griffin, featuring arrangements by Norman Simmons...
(Riverside) - 1960: John Griffin’s Studio Jazz Party (Riverside)
- 1961: Change of Pace
- 1961: The Kerry Dancers
- 1962: Tough Tenor Favourites (Riverside)
- 1963: Grab This!
- 1963: Do Nothing ’Til You Hear from Me (Riverside)
- 1967: The Man I Love (Black Lion)
- 1969: Jazz Undulation, with Dexter Gordon, Hampton HawesHampton HawesHampton Hawes was an American bebop and hard-bop jazz pianist, recognized as one of the finest and most influential of the 1950s.-Biography:...
, Jimmy WoodeJimmy WoodeJimmy Woode was a jazz bassist. His father, also named Jimmy Woode, was a music teacher and pianist who played with Hot Lips Page...
, Kenny ClarkeKenny ClarkeKenny Clarke , born Kenneth Spearman Clarke, nicknamed "Klook" and later known as Liaqat Ali Salaam, was a jazz drummer and an early innovator of the bebop style of drumming... - 1975: Doldinger Jubilee ’75 with Klaus DoldingerKlaus DoldingerKlaus Doldinger is a German saxophonist, especially well-known for jazz and as a composer of film music. He was the recipient of 1997's Bavarian Film Awards .-Life and work:...
, Les McCannLes McCannLes McCann is an American soul jazz piano player and vocalist whose biggest successes came as a crossover artist into R&B and soul.-Biography:...
, Philip CatherinePhilip CatherinePhilip Catherine is a Belgian jazz guitarist.-Biography:He was born in London from an English mother and Belgian father....
, Buddy GuyBuddy GuyGeorge "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
, Pete YorkPete YorkPete York is a rock drummer who has been performing since the 1960s.-Early life:... - 1978: Return of the Griffin with Ronnie MathewsRonnie MathewsRonnie Mathews was a jazz pianist primarily known for his work with other musicians, including Max Roach from 1963 to 1968 and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. He acted as lead in recording from 1963 and 1978 - 1979...
, Ray DrummondRay DrummondRay Drummond is a jazz bassist and teacher. He also has an MBA from Stanford University, hence his linkage to the Stanford Jazz Workshop...
and Keith CopelandKeith CopelandKeith Copeland is a jazz drummer and music educator.- As a musician :His father Ray Copeland was a jazz trumpet player, and he learned some by watching him, but he decided to go into drums after study's Art Blakey's records with The Jazz Messengers. In his teens he was sitting in with Barry... - 1978: Bush Dance
- 1978: Birds and BalladsBirds and BalladsBirds and Ballads is a jazz album recorded under the leadership of Johnny Griffin, released in 1978.Players include Art Pepper, John Klemmer, Joe Farrell, Joe Henderson, Harold Land, and the rhythm section featuring Stanley Cowell, Roy Haynes, Cecil McBee and John Heard.Four of the album's eight...
- 1980: Live / Autumn Leaves (Verve)
- 1984: Tenors Back Again! with Eddie Lockjaw Davis (Storyville)
- 1985: Three Generations of Tenor Saxophone with Sal NisticoSal NisticoSal Nistico, born Salvatore Nistico 2 April 1938 in Syracuse , died 3 March 1991 in Berne, Switzerland, was a jazz tenor saxophonist....
and Roman Schwaller - 1986: Have You Met Barcelona, with Ben SidranBen SidranBen Sidran is an American jazz and rock pianist, organist, vocalist and writer born in Chicago, noted for his work with the early Steve Miller Band.-Biography:...
- 1988: Take My Hand with Michael WeissMichael Weiss (composer)Michael David Weiss , is a jazz pianist and composer best known for his fifteen year association with saxophonist Johnny Griffin....
, Dennis Irwin, Kenny Washington (Who's Who of Jazz) - 1990: The Cat with Michael WeissMichael Weiss (composer)Michael David Weiss , is a jazz pianist and composer best known for his fifteen year association with saxophonist Johnny Griffin....
, Dennis Irwin, Kenny Washington, Curtis FullerCurtis FullerCurtis DuBois Fuller is an American jazz trombonist, known as a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and contributor to many classic jazz recordings.-Biography:...
, Steve Nelson (Antilles) - 1992: Dance of Passion with Michael WeissMichael Weiss (composer)Michael David Weiss , is a jazz pianist and composer best known for his fifteen year association with saxophonist Johnny Griffin....
, Peter Washington, Kenny Washington, John Clark, Steve Turre, Dave Bargeron (Antilles) - 1999: In and Out (Dreyfus)
- 2000: Johnny Griffin and Steve Grossman Quintet with Michael WeissMichael Weiss (composer)Michael David Weiss , is a jazz pianist and composer best known for his fifteen year association with saxophonist Johnny Griffin....
, Pierre MichelotPierre MichelotPierre Michelot was a French bebop and hard bop double bass player.Born in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, Paris, Michelot studied piano from 1936 until 1938, but switched to playing bass at the age of sixteen...
, Alvin Queen (Dreyfus) - 2001: White Gardenia
As sideman
With Nat AdderleyNat Adderley
Nathaniel Adderley was an American jazz cornet and trumpet player who played in the hard bop and soul jazz genres. He was the brother of saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley....
- Branching OutBranching Out-Track listing:# "Sister Caroline" - 5:50# "Well, You Needn't" - 8:20# "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" - 4:29# "I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'" - 4:59...
(1958)
With Art Blakey
Art Blakey
Arthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
- Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious MonkArt Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk-Side two:-1999 bonus tracks:-Personnel:* Bill Hardman — trumpet* Johnny Griffin — tenor saxophone* Thelonious Monk — piano* Spanky DeBrest — bass* Art Blakey — drums-Additional personnel:* Nesuhi Ertegün — producer* Earl Brown — recording engineer...
(1958)
With Tadd Dameron
Tadd Dameron
Tadley Ewing Peake "Tadd" Dameron was an American jazz composer, arranger and pianist. Saxophonist Dexter Gordon called Dameron the "romanticist" of the bop movement, while reviewer Scott Yanow writes that Dameron was the "definitive arranger/composer of the bop era".-Biography:Born in Cleveland,...
- The Magic TouchThe Magic TouchThe Magic Touch can refer to an R&B female vocal group from Long Island, which featured Pat Carty as lead vocalist [Diane Tyler would later take over as lead], Marsha Bivens and LaRonda Williams, that recorded the hit single Step Into My World on the Black Falcon label in April 1971, or a 1962...
(1962)
With Bennie Green
Bennie Green
Bennie Green was an American jazz trombonist.Born in Chicago, Illinois, Green worked in the orchestras of Earl Hines and Charlie Ventura, and recorded as bandleader through the 1950s and 1960s.-As leader:...
- Glidin' AlongGlidin' AlongGlidin' Along is an album by American trombonist Bennie Green recorded in 1961 and released on the Jazzland label.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 3 stars.-Track listing:# "African Dream" - 5:45# "Sweet Sucker" - 8:00...
(1961)
With Blue Mitchell
Blue Mitchell
Richard Allen Mitchell was an American jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, rock, and funk trumpeter, known for many albums recorded as leader and sideman for Riverside, Blue Note and then Mainstream Records.-Biography:...
- Big 6Big 6 (album)Big 6 is the debut album by American trumpeter Blue Mitchell recorded in 1958 and released on the Riverside label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 5 stars and stated "Mitchell is heard in excellent form in an all-star sextet".-Track listing:*Recorded in New York City...
(1958)
With Wilbur Ware
Wilbur Ware
Wilbur Ware was an American jazz double-bassist known for his hard bop percussive style.Born in Chicago, Ware taught himself to play banjo and bass. In the 1940s, he worked with Stuff Smith, Sonny Stitt and Roy Eldridge. In the 1950s, Ware played with Eddie Vinson, Art Blakey, and Buddy DeFranco...
- The Chicago Sound (1957, Riverside RecordsRiverside RecordsRiverside Records was a United States record label specializing in jazz. Founded by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer under his firm Bill Grauer Productions, Inc. in 1953, the label was a major presence in the jazz record industry for a decade...
)
With Bud Powell
Bud Powell
Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell was an American Jazz pianist. Powell has been described as one of "the two most significant pianists of the style of modern jazz that came to be known as bop", the other being his friend and contemporary Thelonious Monk...
- Bud in ParisBud in ParisBud in Paris is an album by jazz pianist Bud Powell, originally released on Xanadu Records in 1975, containing non-studio recordings made of Powell in Paris between December 1959 and October 1960...
(1975, Xanadu RecordsXanadu RecordsXanadu Records was a jazz music record label specializing in bebop throughout the 1970s and 1980s founded by Don Schlitten, recording and issuing recordings by some legendary names in jazz music.-Discography:...
) (recorded live 1960) - Earl Bud Powell, Vol. 8: Holidays in Edenville, 64 (1964, Mythic Sound)