John Arnold Griffin III (24 de abril de 1928 - 25 de julho de 2008) foi um tenor saxofonista bebop e hard bebop estadunidense. Faleceu com 80 anos em 2008 vítima de ataque do coração.
Apelidado de "o Pequeno Gigante" por sua baixa estatura e jogo vigoroso, a carreira de Griffin começou em meados da década de 1940 e continuou até o mês de sua morte. Figura pioneira no hard bop, Griffin gravou prolificamente como líder de banda, além de passagens com o pianista Thelonious Monk, o baterista Art Blakey, em parceria com o tenor Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis e como membro da Kenny Clarke / Francy Boland Big Band depois ele se mudou para a Europa na década de 1960. Em 1995, Griffin recebeu o título de Doutor Honorário em Música da Berklee College of Music.
Discografia
Como líder
1956: Johnny Griffin (Argo, 1958) 1956: Introducing Johnny Griffin (Blue Note) 1957: A Blowing Session (Blue Note) 1957: The Congregation (Blue Note) 1958: Johnny Griffin Sextet (Riverside) 1958: Way Out! (Riverside) 1959: The Little Giant (Riverside) 1960: The Big Soul-Band (Riverside) 1960: Battle Stations (Prestige) 1960: Johnny Griffin's Studio Jazz Party (Riverside) 1960: Tough Tenors (Jazzland) 1960: Griff & Lock (Jazzland) 1961: The First Set (Prestige) 1961: The Tenor Scene (Prestige) 1961: The Late Show (Prestige) 1961: The Midnight Show (Prestige) 1961: Lookin' at Monk! (Prestige) 1961: Change of Pace (Riverside) 1961: Blues Up & Down (Jazzland) 1961: White Gardenia (Riverside) 1961: The Kerry Dancers (Riverside) 1962: Tough Tenor Favorites (Jazzland) 1962: Grab This! (Riverside) 1963: Soul Groove (Atlantic) com Matthew Gee 1963: Do Nothing 'til You Hear from Me (Riverside) 1964: Night Lady (Philips) 1967: The Man I Love (Polydor) 1967: You Leave Me Breathless (Black Lion) 1967: A Night in Tunisia (Trio) 1967: Body and Soul (Moon) 1968: Jazz Undulation (Joker) 1968: Lady Heavy Bottom's Waltz (Vogue) 1970: Tough Tenors Again 'n' Again (MPS) 1973: Blues for Harvey (SteepleChase) 1974: Johnny Griffin Live at Music Inn (Horo) 1975: All the Things You Are (Timeless) 1976: Johnny Griffin Live in Tokyo (Philips) 1976: The Little Giant Revisited (Philips) 1978: Sincerely Ours (Four Leaf Clover) com Rolf Ericson 1978: Return of the Griffin (Galaxy) 1978: Bush Dance (Galaxy) 1978: Birds and Ballads (Galaxy) 1979: NYC Underground (Galaxy) 1979: To the Ladies (Galaxy) 1980: Live / Autumn Leaves (Verve) 1981: Meeting (Jeton) 1983: Call It Whachawana (Galaxy) 1984: Tenors Back Again! (Storyville) 1985: Three Generations of Tenor Saxophone 1986: Have You Met Barcelona 1988: Take My Hand (Who's Who in Jazz) 1990: The Cat (Antilles) 1992: Dance of Passion (Antilles) 1994: Chicago-New york-Paris 1995: Chicago, New York, Paris (Verve/Polygram) 1999: In and Out (Dreyfus) 2000: Johnny Griffin and Steve Grossman Quintet 2000: Johnny Griffin and Horace Parlan: Close Your Eyes (Minor Music) 2002: Johnny Griffin and the Great Danes
Como sideman Com Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Jazz Sahara (Riverside, 1958) East Meets West (RCA Victor, 1960)
Com Nat Adderley
Branching Out (Riverside, 1958) A Little New York Midtown Music (Galaxy, 1978)
Com Chet Baker
Chet Baker in New York (Riverside, 1958)
Com Count Basie
Count Basie Jam Session at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1975 (Pablo, 1975)
Com Art Blakey
Selections from Lerner and Loewe's... (Vik, 1957) A Night in Tunisia (Vik, 1957) Cu-Bop (Jubilee, 1957) Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers com Thelonious Monk (Atlantic, 1957) Hard Drive (Bethlehem, 1957)
Com James Carter
Live at Baker's Keyboard Lounge (Warner Bros., 2001 )
Com the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band
Sax No End (SABA, 1967) Out of the Folk Bag (Columbia, 1967) 17 Men and Their Music (Campi, 1967) All Smiles (MPS, 1968) Faces (MPS, 1969) Latin Kaleidoscope (MPS, 1968) Fellini 712 (MPS, 1969) All Blues (MPS, 1969) More Smiles (MPS, 1969) Volcano (Polydor 1969) Clarke Boland Big Band en Concert avec Europe 1 (Tréma, 1969 )
Com Tadd Dameron
The Magic Touch (Riverside 1962)
Com Dizzy Gillespie
The Giant (America, 1973) The Source (America, 1973) The Dizzy Gillespie Big 7 (Pablo, 1975)
Com Bennie Green
Glidin' Along (Jazzland 1961)
Com Philly Joe Jones
Blues for Dracula (Riverside, 1958) Look Stop Listen (Uptown, 1983) Com Dameronia
Com Johnny Lytle
Nice and Easy (Jazzland, 1962)
Com Blue Mitchell
Big 6 (Riverside 1958)
Com Thelonious Monk
Thelonious in Action (Riverside 1958) Misterioso (Riverside 1958)
Com Bud Powell
Bud in Paris (1975, Xanadu) (recorded live 1960) Earl Bud Powell, Vol. 8: Holidays in Edenville, 64 (Mythic Sound, 1964)
Com A. K. Salim
Stable Mates (Savoy, 1957) Pretty for the People (Savoy, 1957)
Com Ira Sullivan
Blue Stroll (Delmark, 1961)
Com Clark Terry
Serenade to a Bus Seat (Riverside, 1957)
Com Wilbur Ware
The Chicago Sound (Riverside, 1957)
Com Randy Weston
Little Niles (United Artists, 1958)
Com Wes Montgomery
Full House (Riverside, 1962)
Bibliografia
Mike Hennessey The Little Giant: The Story of Johnny Griffin. London: Northway Publications, 2008.
Ligações externas
Categoria:Saxofonistas dos Estados Unidos Categoria:Saxofonistas de jazz Categoria:Naturais de Chicago Categoria:Músicos afro-americanos Categoria:Mortes por infarto agudo do miocárdio