Griffin,Johnny Riverside Collection 1958-1962 CD

Riverside Collection 1958-1962 (4CD BOX SET) Johnny Griffin In a career spanning over six decades, Johnny Griffin has carved out a reputation as one of hard bop s pioneering musicians. Dubbed the Little Giant due to his modest stature and hard-edged sound, his fast, controlled and harmonic style has featured on some of the finest records created within the genre. Although known for playing in support of many big names in jazz - Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey etc. - as well as for his partnership with fellow sax man Eddie Lockjaw Davis, it was as bandleader that Griffin produced his best work, with his output for Riverside Records in the late 1950s and early 1960s being considered his career highlight by most critics and fans. John Arnold Griffin III was born in Chicago, Illinois on 24th April 1924. He studied music at DuSable High School, progressing from clarinet to oboe then to alto saxophone, all under the tutelage of famed violinist and musical educator Walter Dyett. Johnny started his professional career at an early age, playing in the band of blues legend T-Bone Walker at 15, before joining Lionel Hampton s big band just three days after his High School graduation. It would be Hampton that encouraged the young Griffin to switch to tenor saxophone, which became his instrument of choice for the rest of his career, although he could be heard playing other saxes - including baritone - on occasion. Griffin made his first recordings in 1945 aged just 17, while still with Hampton. This four disc collection brings together the finest material Johnny Griffin released during his years on the Riverside label. Featuring eight fully-remastered albums, containing in total more than five hours of music, this set can serve as both a fitting introduction to this truly exceptional player, and a welcome reminder for jazz fans of what an inspiring and influential musician the man dubbed the fastest tenor in the west really was at this time.

1. Disc: 1 Stix' Trix 2. What's New' 3. Woody 'N You 4. Johnny G.G 5. Catharsis 6. Where's Your Overcoat, Boy' 7. Hot Sausage 8. Sunny Monday 9. Cherokee 10. Teri's Tune 11. Little John 12. Disc: 2 Olive Refractions 13. The Message 14. Lonely One 15. 63rd Street Theme 16. Playmates 17. Venus and the Moon 18. Wade in the Water 19. Panic Room Blues 20. Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen 21. Meditation 22. Holla 23. So Tired 24. Deep River 25. Jubilation 26. Disc: 3 Party Time 27. Good Bait 28. There Will Never Be Another You 29. Toe - Tappin' 30. You've Changed 31. Low Gravy 32. Soft and Furry 33. In the Still of the Night 34. The Last of the Fat Pants 35. Same to You 36. Connie's Bounce 37. Situation 38. Nocturne 39. Why Not 40. As We All Know 41. Disc: 4 Gloomy Sunday 42. That Old Devil Called Love 43. White Gardenia 44. God Bless the Child 45. Detour Ahead 46. Good Morning Heartache 47. Don't Explain 48. Trav'lin' Light 49. No More 50. Left Alone 51. The Kerry Dancers 52. Black Is the Colour of My True Love's Hair 53. Green Grow the Rushes 54. The Londonderry Air 55. 25 1/2 Daze 56. Oh, Now I See 57. Hush-A-Bye 58. Ballad for Monsieur