Johnny Griffin: April 24, 1928 - July 25, 2008

July 25, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: arts music, blank title, coleman hawkins, hard bop, injustice, jazz musician, johnny griffin, little giant, Masters, muscular sound, News, no doubt, Notes, ny times, nytimes, obit, rhythm and blues, rough and tumble, saxophone, saxophonist, stature, target, wails

WBGO bids farewell to Johnny Griffin, a master jazz musician. Many jazz people referred to Griffin as "The Little Giant," no doubt because of his dimunitive stature (he was a shade below 5 and a half feet tall). The consensus, however, was that Griffin's true stature loomed large in the music. Johnny Griffin could easily fall under the category of "hard bop saxophonist," but to do so would be an injustice. When you listen to the raw muscular sound of early Johnny Griffin records, you can hear a combination of saxophone legend Coleman Hawkins, the rough-and-tumble rhythm and blues of Griffin's Chicago hometown, and some definitive gospel wails. It was a big, combustible sound. One that will be missed.

Read the New York Times obit.

If you're looking for good music from Griffin, you have plenty of options.
Some suggestions after the jump.
Read more

© 2008 WBGO

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Bassist Renaud Garcia-Fons

July 3, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: auray, berimbau, bowing technique, cello, contrebasse, Discovery, double bass, FIJM, fingers, flamenco guitar, francois rabbath, gesu, jazz players, Listening Post, montreal jazz festival, musicians, no doubt, percussion, pizzicato, renaud garcia fons, tutelage, woodshed

Notice anything unusual about this bass?

Take another look at the fretboard. You'll see five strings on the Jean Auray bass, a French-made instrument. But that's not the only difference. This bass is played by Renaud Garcia-Fons, who plays the instrument and makes it sound like a cello, a drum, a Brazilian berimbau, even a flamenco guitar. His pizzicato, or plucking style, sounds most like flamenco. Renaud uses the tips of his fingers, rather than the sides (like most jazz players). He has a flawless bowing technique, no doubt developed under the tutelage of the master of the contrebasse, Francois Rabbath. Garcia-Fons can execute a sequence on the double bass that would send most musicians back to the woodshed. He looks like he's doing these pyrotechnics with little effort.

But enough about technique. What makes Renaud Garcia-Fons so interesting is that he plays some amazing music. In Montreal, he performed with a trio (guitar, percussion) at the Salle de Gesu.

Click here to listen to Renaud Garcia-Fons at the Montreal Jazz Festival 2008.
-Josh

© 2008 WBGO
IAJE Evening 3 - Q Music, Roll Orchestra On 2

January 13, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: air water, element earth, fifth element, game, IAJE 2008, jazz master, jazz masterworks orchestra, Live Music, ludacris, Masters, no doubt, quincy jones, quincy jones music, quintessence, smithsonian jazz, soul bossa nova

Let's welcome back to the stage at the NEA Jazz Master Awards Concert (blog version), the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, as they perform more of Quincy Jones' music. Here we go:

Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra - Pleasingly Plump

No doubt you'll recognize the next song:

Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra - Soul Bossa Nova

That was Shagadelic. Possibly even Ludacris...or if you're Canadian, a theme to get your game on...

Now back to the show. Next up - the fifth element. Earth, Fire, Air, Water, Quincy Jones...

Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra - Quintessence

© 2008 WBGO

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