1. James Harrell McGriff was an American hard bop and soul-jazz organist and organ trio bandleader.
21 Facts About Jimmy McGriff
1. 2.
Jimmy McGriff played bass in his first group, a piano trio.
3.
When he joined the United States Army, Jimmy McGriff served as a military policeman during the Korean War.
4.
Jimmy McGriff later became a police officer in Philadelphia for two years.
5.
Jimmy McGriff bought his first Hammond B-3 organ in 1956, spent six months learning the instrument, then studied at New York's Juilliard School.
6.
Jimmy McGriff studied privately with Milt Buckner, Jimmy Smith, and Sonny Gatewood.
7.
Jimmy McGriff was influenced by the energy and dynamics of organist Buckner and the diplomatic aplomb of Count Basie, and by local organists such as Howard "The Demon" Whaley and Austin Mitchell.
8.
Jimmy McGriff formed a combo that played around Philadelphia and often featured tenor saxophonist Charles Earland.
9.
In 1961, Jimmy McGriff's trio was offered the chance to record an instrumental version of Ray Charles' hit "I've Got a Woman" by Joe Lederman's Jell Records, a small independent label.
10.
When producer Sonny Lester started his Solid State record label in 1966, he recruited Jimmy McGriff to be his star attraction.
11.
Jimmy McGriff settled in Newark, New Jersey, and eventually opened his own supper club, The Golden Slipper - where he recorded Black Pearl and another live album, Chicken Fried Soul with Junior Parker in 1971.
12.
Jimmy McGriff "retired" from the music industry in 1972 to start a horse farm in Connecticut.
13.
Around this time, disco was gaining a hold in jazz music and Jimmy McGriff's flexibility proved infallible.
14.
Jimmy McGriff produced some of his best music during this period: Stump Juice, Red Beans and Outside Looking In.
15.
Jimmy McGriff began a long relationship with Milestone Records collaborating with Rusty Bryant, Al Grey, Red Holloway, David "Fathead" Newman, Frank Wess and Eric Alexander.
16.
In 1986, Jimmy McGriff started a popular partnership with alto saxophone player Hank Crawford.
17.
Between 1994 and 1998, Jimmy McGriff experimented with the Hammond XB-3, an organ synthesizer that increased the organ's capabilities with MIDI enhancements.
18.
Jimmy McGriff was one of the first B3 players to add MIDI to the upper keyboard of his personal B3 to add and extend "his sound" beyond just the drawbar sound of the B3.
19.
Jimmy McGriff incorporated synthesizers in his live performances as he liked vibes, piano, strings, brass and other sounds that could only be created by a synthesizer and which the classic B3 cannot provide.
20.
Jimmy McGriff purchased the XB-3 as he had more control over the MIDI functions, and the XB-3 weighs about half of the classic B3, which made it easier to move.
21.
On March 29,2008, Jimmy McGriff was given a last private concert by Bill "Mr B3" Dilks and drummer Grant MacAvoy in his honor in Voorhees Township, New Jersey.