James Griffith is an award-winning Toronto-based saxophonist and composer. Originally hailing from Lloydminster, Alberta, Canada, Griffith has a strong passion for performance and composition in contemporary and traditional jazz idioms. Also taking interest in both jazz and classical saxophone, Griffith is grateful to have participated in a number of honor ensembles as well as multiple national festivals and workshops. This includes his participation in the National Youth Band of Canada (2018, 2019), the FCMF National Music Festival (2018 – Sackville, New Brunswick), the Youth Jazz Canada workshop (2018), the Conn Selmer Centerstage Band at Musicfest Nationals (2019 – Ottawa), and with the Humber X Ensemble (2020-21, 2021-22). Specifically, at MusicFest Nationals, James was fortunate enough to be awarded the premier award of the festival – the 2019 Yamaha “Music Makes Waves” Award. Through these various opportunities, Griffith has had the pleasure of working with some of Canada’s finest musicians, including Kirk MacDonald, Brian Dickinson, Kelly Jefferson, Alex Dean, Neil Swainson, and Lorne Lofsky, among various others. Griffith has also performed with a number of internationally known artists, including Terri Lyne Carrington and Dayna Stephens. Griffith will be going into his 4th year of the Bachelor of Music program at Humber College and is privately studying with Kirk MacDonald and working with many other esteemed instructors and musicians.
