RAYFORD GRIFFIN
Genres: RnB, Classic Fusion • United States

Rayford Griffin was born February 6, 1958, in Indianapolis, Indiana, to a minister father (Reverend Thomas J. Griffin) and a mother (Geneva Brown) who was a Howard University music major, so his music appreciation started early. It was the drum solos of Art Blakey and Max Roach on albums by his late, lamented uncle, trumpeter Clifford Brown, that lured him to the drums. Rayford got his first drum (a field snare) at the age of 10 and played in his grade school marching band and orchestra. He got his first full set of drums (all the way from Japan) at 13. From the 8th grade through high school, he studied with Tom Akins, principle timpanist for the Indianapolis Symphony, who provided Rayford with a polished precision on drum set, snare and tympani that would give him a lifelong edge over most other drummers. “I used to take turns playing James Brown read more...