GRIFFIN, JOHN ARNOLD

GRIFFIN, JOHN ARNOLD. Jazz saxophonist (24 April 1928 in Chicago, Illinois). He came from a musical family: his father played cornet, and his mother was a singer. He obtained his musical education in the public schools of Chicago, Illinois, where he came under the tutelage of Walter Dyett at DuSable High School and studied woodwinds and saxophone. After graduation from high school he joined Lionel Hampton's band as a tenor saxophonist (1945-47). Thereafter he played with various groups,...