Johnny Griffin

John Arnold Griffin III was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of his death. A pioneering figure in hard bop, Griffin recorded prolifically as a bandleader in addition to stints with pianist Thelonious Monk, drummer Art Blakey, in partnership with fellow tenor Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and as a member of the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band after he moved to Europe in the 1960s. In 1995, Griffin was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music.

24 April 1928

Born on the same birth date (24 April 1928): Anahit Perikhanian • Tommy Docherty

Born on the same birth day (24 April): Damien Fleming • Damon Lindelof • Denys Finch Hatton • Doris Burn • Edmund Cartwright • Eliana Gil • Gabriel Figueroa • Gino Valenzano • Giovanni Battista Martini • Helga Arendt • Hugh Dowding • Jayakanthan • Kris Letang • Marc-Adélard Tremblay • Marte Mjøs Persen • Nathaniel Hone the Elder • Richard Donner • Roxanna Panufnik • Sigrid Agren • Simon Tischer • Sue Grafton • Thomas Lucy • Varun Dhawan

Born in the same month (April 1928): Alan J. Pakula • Cy Twombly • David Robinson (horticulturist) • Don Gibson • Emmett Johns • Enzo Cannavale • Ethel Kennedy • Fabien Roy • Gianni Marzotto • Heinz Putzl • Hugh Hood • James White (author) • Jean-François Paillard • Monty Norman • Serge Gainsbourg • Shirley Temple • Tom Lehrer • Tommy Tycho • Yves Klein