Griffin Ross, a North Carolina raised saxophonist, composer, educator, and bandleader, has established himself as an up and coming jazz artist of his generation. Heavily influenced by the likes of Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong, and Wynton Marsalis, Griffin has grounded himself in the tradition, enabling him to extract the feeling and spirit of the great jazz masters and apply it in the modern world. His music pulls from the great theme of human spirit and is always motivated by a story. While still in high school Griffin was selected as a member of the 2017 Grammy Band where he went on 7-day tour of Los Angeles, performed at various venues, recorded albums at the famous Capitol Records in Hollywood, and played at the 2017 Grammy Awards. Griffin was also selected as a member of Jazz Band of America and is a two-time YoungArts winner. As a leader in Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble, he won back to back Outstanding Soloist awards presented by Wynton Marsalis at the Essentially Ellington Jazz Festival at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. In his few short years in the field, Griffin has already shared the stage with some of the industry’s finest such as Russell Hall, Matthew Whittaker, Alexander Claffy, Julius Rodriguez, and Otis Brown III. Griffin is a member of Russell Hall‘s Bessie and the Rainbow Kids, a group that plays a wide variety of music from all parts of the world locally and nationally. In addition to jazz, Griffin has performed at the Barclays center with Lil Kim and recorded multiple studio sessions with a variety of other R&B artist. Griffin also is the head man for Neon Transit, a group which is quickly becoming one of the most popular DJ/hybrid bands on the market. Griffin also has a deep connection to Gospel music and plays every Sunday at New Hope Baptist Church of Hackensack, NJ. The band Griffin formed and leads, The New Standard, has been recognized by DownBeat Magazine as an award winning vocal jazz ensemble. Griffin is featured on “Cat’s Planet”, the debut album by Jianing Yang that was named China’s 2019 Jazz Album of the Year and was the 15th Top Album of 2019. Griffin is currently attending William Paterson University to obtain a degree in Jazz Studies, and has studied under Branford Marsalis, Vincent Herring and Rich Perry. As a saxophone instructor Griffin is a very passionate teacher. His private students have made All-State bands for both classical and jazz. He also worked with Jazz House Kids in New Jersey as a saxophone instructor. In May 2019 Griffin was selected as The Reserve at Lake Keowee’s Artist in Residence. During this residency he taught master classes on the importance of improvisation in everyday life and jazz history. At 20 years old he was the youngest person to ever receive this prestigious opportunity.