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'James Harrell McGriff' (born April 3, 1936, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a hard bop and soul-jazz organist and organ trio bandleader who developed a distinctive style of playing the Hammond B-3 organ.

Contents

Career

Early years

1960s: First combos

1970s-1980s

1990s-2000s

Career

Early years

He started playing piano at the age of five and by his teens, also learned to play vibes, alto sax, drums and upright bass. His first group was a piano trio, which found him playing bass in the band. When he joined the Army, McGriff served as an MP during the Korean War and settled in on a career as police officer for Philadelphia's finest, a gig which only lasted a little more than two years.
Music kept drawing McGriff's attention away from the police force. His childhood friend, organist Jimmy Smith, had begun earning a substantial reputation in jazz for his Blue Note records (the two played together once in 1967) and McGriff became entranced by the organ sound while Richard "Groove" Holmes played at his sister's wedding. Holmes went on to became McGriff's teacher, friend and, on two occasions in 1973, his sparring partner for two Groove Merchant records.
McGriff bought his first Hammond B-3 organ in 1956, spent six months learning the instrument, then studied at New York's Juilliard School of Music. He also studied privately with Milt Buckner, Jimmy Smith, and Sonny Gatewood. He was influenced by the energy and dynamics of organist Milt Buckner and the diplomatic aplomb of Count Basie, and by local pianists such as Sonny Gatewood, Howard Whaley and Austin Mitchell.

1960s: First combos

McGriff formed a combo that played around Philadelphia and often featured talented tenor sax player, Charles Earland (who soon switched permanently to organ, and became one of the instrument's renowned performers). During this time, McGriff also accompanied such artists as Don Gardner, Arthur Prysock, Candido and Carmen McRae who came through town for local club dates.
In 1961, McGriff's trio was offered the chance to record an instrumental version of Ray Charles's hit "I've Got A Woman" by Joe Lederman's Jell Records, a small independent label. When the record received substantial local airplay, Juggy Murray's Sue label picked it up and recorded a full album of McGriff's trio, released in 1962. The album also turned out another huge hit in McGriff's "All About My Girl," firmly establishing McGriff's credentials as a fiery blues-based organist, well-versed in gospel soul and fatback groove.
McGriff recorded a series of popular albums for the Sue label between 1962 and 1965, ending with what still stands as one of his finest examples of blues-based jazz: BLUES FOR MISTER JIMMY. When producer Sonny Lester started his Solid State record label in 1966, he recruited Jimmy McGriff to be his star attraction. Lester framed McGriff in many different groups, performing a wide variety of styles and giving the organist nearly unlimited opportunities to record. McGriff was heard everywhere: from an all-star tribute to Count Basie (THE BIG BAND), a series of "Organ And Blues Band" records (of which, 1969's A THING TO COME BY, is the best), pop hits (CHERRY, THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT) and out and out funk classics (ELECTRIC FUNK and such singles as "The Worm" and "Step 1").
During this time, McGriff actively performed at clubs and concert halls worldwide. He settled in Newark, New Jersey, and eventually opened his own supper club, the Golden Slipper - where he recorded BLACK PEARL and a live album with Junior Parker in 1971. Beginning in 1969, he also performed regularly with Buddy Rich's band, though the two were only recorded once together in 1974 (THE LAST BLUES ALBUM VOLUME 1).

1970s-1980s

McGriff "retired" from the music industry in 1972 to start a horse farm in Connecticut. But Sonny Lester's new record company, Groove Merchant, kept issuing McGriff records at a rate of three or four a year. By 1973, McGriff was back - touring relentlessly and actively recording again. Around this time, disco was gaining a hold in jazz music and McGriff's flexibility proved infallible. He produced some of his best music during this period:
Stump Juice (1975), Red Beans (1976) and Outside Looking In (1978). These records, issued in some form or another on CD, still stand out today as excellent documents of McGriff's organic prowess.
By 1980, McGriff broke away from Sonny Lester and began working actively with producer (and former funk lord) Bob Porter (and recording master Rudy Van Gelder). McGriff began a long relationship with Fantasy's Milestone label, which has caught him in a wide variety of circumstances featuring such headliners as Rusty Bryant, Al Grey, Red Holloway, David "Fathead" Newman, Frank Wess and young gun Eric Alexander.
In 1986, McGriff started a popular partnership with alto sax man Hank Crawford. Their partnership has yielded a few interesting moments (1987's SOUL SURVIVORS and 1997's ROAD TESTED). But it was only during their brief - and not very interesting - period at Telarc in the mid 1990s where McGriff's name headlined the popular club and cruise ship attraction.

1990s-2000s

Between 1994 and 1998, McGriff also experimented with the Hammond XB-3, a sort of synthesized organ that increased the organ's capabilities with MIDI enhancements. This gave McGriff an unnatural synthesized sound, which probably explains his retreat from the instrument on such recent efforts as 2000's funky McGRIFF'S HOUSE PARTY (featuring fellow organist Lonnie Smith).
Along with the soul-jazz sound, McGriff experienced renewed popularity in the mid-1990s, forming The Dream Team group, which featured David "Fathead" Newman (a longtime sax player with Ray Charles) and drummer Bernard Purdie, and recording the Straight Up (1998), McGriff's House Party (2000), Feelin' It (2001), and McGriff Avenue (2002) albums.