George Griffin was 5 when he first started banging away at cardboard boxes.



He was 16, still a junior at Garfield High School, when he was playing professionally with the Dave Lewis Combo, a legendary Northwest group.



n the 1960s, George Griffin was in the house band at the celebrated Penthouse club in downtown Seattle and opened for greats like John Coltrane, Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis.



Now, at age 76, George Griffin lives in a Rainier Valley housing complex for seniors of limited income and has become the music teacher to people who, in some cases, had never before touched a musical instrument.