Yvonne Griffin, a treasured singer of jazz

Yvonne Griffin, whose rich voice and bluesy style became a fixture of the Seattle jazz scene, died Saturday (Sept. 15) from complications of liver cancer.

She was 85.

Born in New Orleans in 1916, Mrs. Griffin developed an ear for music at an early age, keeping time with rhythms by swinging in a rocking chair or "strumming" a straw hat. By age 17 she was performing, eventually helping to form an all-female trio called the Three Berries.

The group once played with Nat King Cole, said Mrs. Griffin's nephew, Dave De Partee. "It was just before Nat broke," he said.

In 1944, Mrs. Griffin got married in Los Angeles, where she was performing at the time. Two years later, with their first child on the way, she and her husband, Bill Griffin, moved to Seattle.

When Mrs. Griffin had her first child, daughter Kristeen Grimes, in 1947, she began a hiatus from performing that lasted until 1972.

During that time she had five other children and was busy raising them. But, said De Partee, "her songs would always emanate from the kitchen."

"Her life was kind of a three-way deal," he said. "From age 17 to 31 she was on national radio and playing with all these greats. Then at 31 she decided to settle down and had a family. And then, after that job was done, 25 years later she decided she wanted to sing again."

When she came back to the jazz scene, Mrs. Griffin performed at the Seattle Italian restaurant Lofurno's, which had a dance floor upstairs and an owner who loved jazz. For a couple of years in the early 1990s she performed there with Seattle jazz legend and trumpeter Floyd Standifer.

"She was the featured singer, and I had a quartet," Standifer said. "She was very popular. She had one of those blues-type voices — she really belted out a tune."

And, Standifer said, Mrs. Griffin provided a link to the early years of American jazz.

"If you wanted to know anything about the old times — a lot of people wanted to know what went on during WWII, the type of singing and whatnot — she was always very accessible," Standifer said.

In 1980, Mrs. Griffin released an album of some of her favorite songs, titled "Scrapbook."

"She was an important singer because she was the real stuff," Standifer said. "She wasn't a wannabe, she was an 'I am' and really a neat singer. And a nice lady on top of it. She brought real professionalism to everything she did."

Mrs. Griffin is survived by her daughters, Kristeen Grimes of Seattle, Laura Taylor of St. Maries, Idaho, and Suzanne Prestrud of Olympia; sons, Barry Griffin of Bainbridge Island, Cary Griffin of Shoreline and Larry Barilleau of Palm Springs; 10 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

A memorial service has been held.

Eli Sanders can be reached at 206-748-5815 or esanders@seattletimes.com.