With the passage of time, fewer and fewer of the truly outstanding Big Band Era musicians remain. On June 18 another one moved into memorium, the great jazz trumpeter Chris Griffin.
Griffin is not well known today because he preferred the relative seclusion of studio work, with its security and lack of road travel, instead of the more romantic role of traveling orchestra musician or bandleader.
Griffin is best known to jazz fans as a member of the Benny Goodman orchestra from 1936 to 1939, and a member of the best trumpet section that any big band ever had. Griffin joined Goodman when he was 21 years old and remained through a number of personnel changes in the Goodman trumpet section that included the addition of Ziggy Elman a year later. Four months after that, Goodman heard of a young trumpet sensation named Harry James. Benny dismissed his brother Irving, who was playing third trumpet, and offered James his chair.
With James in place, the Goodman trumpet section made Big Band history. No other band of the era matched their precision and energy. Duke Ellington called them "the greatest trumpet section that ever was." Glenn Miller, not one to hand out compliments easily, described them as "the marvel of the age." (From L to R: Harry James, Ziggy Elman, Chris Griffin)
Another unusual trait possessed by this magical trio was the ability of all three players to blow a commanding lead trumpet. Many thought that Harry James was the "lead" player in the section. He later quipped that anyone who believed that was "wrong about two thirds of the time." James, who of course became a star in his own right, did take most of the trumpet solos, but the section divided up the first, second, and third trumpet parts so that no one ever became tired during a performance. The band never sounded winded, and Benny could never tell which trumpeter was playing which part.
After three years on the road, Chris met and married Helen O'Brien, a beautiful young singer who had been working with Tommy Dorsey's orchestra. He turned in his notice to Benny Goodman in the fall of 1939 and took the lead trumpet position with the CBS radio orchestra under the baton of Raymond Scott. Other bandleaders made generous offers for Chris to join their organizations, and both Goodman and legendary A&R man John Hammond offered to finance orchestras if Griffin was the leader.
But Griffin was now a family man, and had no desire to go back to the grind of touring. He continued to be a first-call trumpeter in the New York studios and in radio and television orchestras throughout the 1940's, 1950's, and 1960's, working with virtually everyone in the entertainment business and finally retiring in the 1970's. After retirement from the studios, Griffin opened a trumpet school and later, partnering with his son Paul (also a professional trumpeter) he became co-proprietor of the Griffin House Bed and Breakfast in Jeffersonville, New York.
Here is a nice article about Chris when he turned 89 this past January, from All About Jazz. And here is a short obituary from All About Jazz. For more great photos and stories from Chris Griffin's wonderful career as a musician, visit the Chris Griffin tribute page at the Griffin House website.
It's not really possible to talk about Griffin's playing without at least providing some samples.
"Blue Skies" is from the legendary Benny Goodman Carnegie Hall concert of Jan. 16, 1938. By most accounts, this concert was the "shark jump" for the Goodman organization; just a few weeks later drummer Gene Krupa left to form his own band, followed by a number of other players who had been with Goodman for years. Griffin doesn't solo on this tune, but I can't think of a better example of just how magnificent the Elman-Griffin-James trumpet section sounded than this brilliant performance.
"Someday Sweetheart" features a 19-year-old Griffin accompanying Mildred Bailey on one of the series of recordings that John Hammond produced for her. Bailey's records for Hammond ran parallel to the sides he produced for Billie Holiday, and Hammond utilized many of the same musicians for both singers. Griffin had yet to join Benny Goodman when this record was made, but his playing shows a tastefulness that is very reminiscent of Bunny Berigan.
"Sweet Sue" was made by the Goodman orchestra after the Carnegie Hall concert. Up until that time, Harry James did most of the trumpet solo work with the band. But Goodman sensed that James was ready to leave and so he began dividing solos between the three trumpeters. Griffin shines on this number with a sweet, swinging, muted solo that weaves freely around the riffs provided by the band.
"Boy Meets Horn" is the famous feature written by Duke Ellington for his trumpeter Rex Stewart. Benny turns this record completely over to Griffin, who plays the tricky trumpet solo flawlessly. It is also one of only a handful of records made under Goodman's name where he does not solo.
Download benny_goodman__blue_skies.mp3
Download mildred_bailey__someday_sweetheart.mp3
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