Johnny Griffin was born in Chicago, Illinois on April 24, 1928. He studied music at his high school. He started out playing the clarinet, than moved on to the oboe, than to the alto sax. He started playing with T-Bone Walker when he was 15.

After he graduated from high school, Griffin joined Lionel Hampton’s band. It was Hampton who convinced him to start playing the tenor. In 1945, he recorded with Hampton. In 1947, he formed a band with Joe Morris who was also a member of Hampton’s band.

In 1951, Griffin joined the Army. He was stationed in Hawaii where he played with the Army Band. After spending two years in the Army, he joined Thelonious Monk’s quartet in New York. In 1957, he played with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, but only spent a short time in the band.

After leaving the Messengers, he played regularly with Lockjaw Davis. Here they are playing Funky Flook.