“To me walking though New York was walking through Jazz. An interview with Michael Griffin for Jazz Australia prior to his departure to New York.
JK: What has led you to a career as a jazz musician?
MG: I have known what I’ve wanted to do with my life since being a kid, basically since I was born. Since being exposed to Jazz as a kid due to my father Trevor Griffin being an accomplished Saxophonist I heard jazz ever since I was born and fell in love straight away. It has always been a huge obsession and essentially been what has dominated my attention and brain since forever. It has always been what I think about the most all day everyday. So for me I had no choice but to pursue a career in jazz, because of my love for the music and dedication to the Saxophone.
JK: What have been your highlights to date?
MG: It’s hard to name all of the highlights but I would certainly say some of the obvious ones have been establishing my own group and performing around Australia at several Jazz festivals under my own name including 2012 Melbourne Jazz Festival and this year finally making my debut as a leader at Manly Jazz Festival. Other than playing around Australia I ‘d certainly say being asked to record for the ABC in 2011 and finally releasing the album in 2015 has been great for my career and has gotten me some great reviews. However probably the two best of all were being featured in Downbeat Magazine in 2015 and being a semifinalist at the 2013 Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition in Washington D.C. It was such an incredible experience. Number one to be accepted and being able to play and meet with so many great other musicians. It also gave me the chance to meet and chat with some of the World’s biggest jazz legends including Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Bobby Watson, Roy Hargrove, Branford Marsalis, Kurt Elling and Many others however the one I felt touched the most was being able to spend time with Bebop legend, Saxophonist Jimmy Heath who really liked my playing and who invited me to hang with him at his place in Queens, New York the next week. Sharing stories about Charlie Parker and John Coltrane among others, it was an incredible experience to spend time with such a Jazz Icon.
JK: Why have you decided to move to New York?
MG: Australia is certainly home to many world class musicians, no question about it. However for me New York is just such an incredible place for Jazz and is no question the mecca for Jazz. The standard of jazz in that city is second to none. There is also an incredible energy and feel and passion that players have in New York and you haven’t heard a band truly swing until you’ve been to New York and seen it in real life. Records is one thing but seeing the calibre of musicians there swing their asses off is something you will never truly understand until you see it live. It’s also a place I feel will help push and allow me to improve myself. Not only is it an incredible place full of world class Jazz talent, it is also home to so much amazing Jazz history and for me that is really important. When i first arrived in New York in 2013 the first thing I did was walk to West 52nd street and sit down for about an hour thinking about what used to happen there. Obviously being a huge street of clubs in the 1940’s and 50’s which regularly featured everyone from Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Billie Holliday, Thelonious Monk, Coleman Hawkins, Art Tatum. Every jazz superstar. Getting to walk through Charlie Parker’s apartment was an incredible experience and walking through Harlem and inside Minton’s Playhouse (The birth place of Bebop) was an unforgettable experience. I had many other similar experiences. To me walking though New York was walking through Jazz.
JK: What do you hope to achieve in the future?
MG: In the future I hope to push myself and see how far I can go. Try and be the best player I can be and perform with the best possible musicians and release many albums and dedicate my life to the highest quality of jazz. I guess for me I just have a real inner drive to pursue this great music and i hope to do great things. You’ve got to be in it to win it and I guess I’m just going to see how it goes.
JK: Thank you, good luck. We look forward to talking to you with an update.
You can catch Michael’s farewell gig at Foundry616 on
9th January at Foundry 616 8.30pm
plus late night jam
