Artist Highlight - Noah Griffin
by Edie Okamoto
UC Jazz Features
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"They see the possibility of a black president as natural as Tiger Woods winning the Masters"
Noah Griffin (talking about his children)Noah Griffin, a highly-regarded Bay Area singer, has been enchanting audiences since the age of 7 when he performed with the San Francisco Boy’s Chorus. His talent was appreciated by such greats as Paul Robeson, Leantyde Price, Johnny Ray and Nat King Cole with whom he shared the stage. He performed with the Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Philharmonic, Fisk University Choir and the famed Jubilee Singers, they performed Porgy and Bess with the Nashville Symphony where Noah had a solo.
As a soloist Noah Griffin performed with Duke Ellington, Shirelles, Kings and he performed in Carmen, Boris Gudenov, Turandot and soloing in La Boheme with the San Francisco Cosmopolitan Opera Company. Noah Griffin was chosen to solo with Duke Ellington in his Boston debut of his "Sacred Concert".
After graduating from Harvard Law School in Boston, Noah Griffin returned to the San Francisco Bay Area where he has lived ever since. While raising his children Noah Griffin had an illustrious career as a syndicated newspaper columnist, radio talk show host, singer and songwriter.
Noah Griffin regularly performs in San Francisco, New York, Boston, London, Rome and Paris. Noah Griffin’ Tribute to Cole Porter took the world by storm and he regularly sells out at such classical venues like Birdland in NY. Now Noah Griffin brings Nat King Cole alive with his popular tribute.
Nat Tonight Dear!
A Tribute to NAT KING COLE performance by Noah Griffin will arrive in San Francisco on Friday April 11, 2008 8PM at the University Club, 800 Powell Street, San Francisco, CA 94108
Noah Griffin pays tribute to Nat King Cole, an unforgettable talent. Come together with your loved ones, friends or on your own to honor the wonderful love songs of the King. April 11, 2008 8PM.
Nat King ColeNat King Cole was one of the earliest and most famous black cross-over artists who gained a huge national and international following with such popular songs as “Mona Lisa,” “When I Fall In Love”, “Unforgettable”, “Too Young” “Straighten Up and Fly Right”, and “Pretend”. Nat King Cole broke through major racial barriers in the entertainment industry as the first black American to have his own national radio show and the first black American to have his own television show. In 1946, Nat started doing a radio show every week. He would play for half an hour on Saturday afternoon, from whatever town he was doing concerts in. The radio show lasted for 4 years. Nat also appeared in quite a few movies. The best known of these is St Louis Blues in which he played the role of the jazz composer W.C. Handy. He was one of the first people to make records with Capitol Records. He eventually appeared in a film about himself called The Nat King Cole Story. He appeared in the Ed Sullivan Show and performed in Las Vegas. He sold over 50 million records. He passed away at a very young age in 1965.
San Francisco audiences are privileged to be the first to enjoy Noah Griffin’s next classic performance of his “Tribute Series”. He will premiere his new “Nat Tonight Dear! Tribute to Nat King Cole” on April 11, 2008 at 8pm at the University Club, 800 Powell Street, San Francisco, CA 94108 For Directions Call: 415.781.0900.
Eddie Fisher has called Noah Griffin a "great singer" and George Shearing "loves his work". Reserve your seats and buy your tickets now! Buy tickets by calling 415.384-0256 now. Admission is $40.00 per person.Learn more about Noah Griffin by visiting the following links.
http://www.myspace.com/noahgriffinfriends
