Johnny Griffin, known as the Little Giant for his compact stature and outsized sound, was a tenor saxophonist and composer rooted in the hard bop tradition. A product of Chicago's DuSable High School, where he studied under the influential educator Walter Dyatt, Griffin turned professional as a teenager and went on to work with Lionel Hampton, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, and Thelonious Monk before establishing himself as a formidable bandleader. His leader sessions for Blue Note and Riverside in the late 1950s, including Introducing Johnny Griffin and A Blowin' Session alongside John Coltrane and Hank Mobley, showcased both his blistering speed and his capacity for melodic invention. While Griffin is remembered primarily as an improviser, his original compositions provided sturdy vehicles for the hard-driving blowing sessions he favored. On AllSolos, his writing is represented by Ball Bearing, Smoke Stack, Mil Dew, Chicago Calling, and Nice and Easy, tunes that range from blues to AABA forms and reflect his deep feel for blues-drenched melody and rhythmic momentum. After relocating to Europe in the 1960s, Griffin continued to compose, record, and perform until shortly before his death in France in 2008.
