John Griffin, known as "the Little Giant," was a trailblazing American jazz tenor saxophonist whose energetic style and compact stature made him a distinctive figure in hard bop. Launching his career in the 1940s, he recorded extensively as a bandleader and collaborated with jazz greats like Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis. In the 1960s, Griffin moved to Europe, joining the Kenny Clarke Francy Boland Big Band. His influential career lasted more than six decades, and in 1995 he received an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music.