JOHNNY GRIFFIN W/THE DUKE JAZZ ENSEMBLE
RETURN OF THE LITTLE GIANT
Friday, 9/28/07, 8 pm
Baldwin Auditorium
$10 • $5*
Johnny Griffin once played the tenor sax faster than anybody in the world, and now at 79, he blows notes steeped in what the New York Times calls “humor, delight, maturity, sophistication, [and] world-weariness.”
The sax legend recorded albums on his own and cut vinyl with Art Blakey, Max Roach, and Coltrane. Griffin joined Monk’s quartet at the Five Spot in 1958 replacing Coltrane, and he played on what may be Monk’s greatest live albums, Misterioso and Thelonious In Action, both recorded just before the piano legend’s cabaret card was revoked for the second time. In 1967, Griffin rejoined Monk for a tour across France, where Griffin was then living and where he still lives today.
In this special event Griffin revisits his time with Monk, appearing as a featured guest of the Duke Jazz Ensemble, the student group led by John Brown, Director of Duke’s Jazz Program. When the saxophone star and undergrad musicians share the stage, look for Monk’s spirit of creative collaboration to preside, making sure the teaching runs both ways.
Johnny Griffin on Monk:
“We were someplace and [Monk] said, ‘See, I can play like Art Tatum if I want.’ And I said, ‘Get out of here, Thelonious! Stop kidding around!’ He said, ‘Well, check this out.’ He made a Tatumesque run on the piano and my eyeballs and my ears almost fell off of my head.
“Monk said, ‘But I don't need that.’ So he played what he had to play, that’s all it is. He didn’t need to be making flourishes and doing pianistic aerobics. He just played what he wanted to play and he did it perfectly.”
Presented by the Duke Jazz Program and funded, in part, with special support from Duke University’s Office of the President.