J. J. Johnson
J. J. Johnson | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | James Louis Johnson |
Also known as | Jay Jay Johnson |
Born | Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. | January 22, 1924
Died | February 4, 2001 Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. | (aged 77)
Genres | Jazz, bebop, hard bop, third stream |
Occupation(s) | Musician, composer |
Instrument(s) | Trombone |
Years active | 1942–1996 |
J. J. Johnson (January 22, 1924 – February 4, 2001),
Johnson was one of the earliest trombonists to embrace bebop.[2]
Biography
Big bands
After studying the piano beginning at age 9, Johnson decided to play
Bebop
While the trombone was featured prominently in
After leaving Basie in 1946 to play in small bebop bands in New York clubs,[3] Johnson toured in 1947 with Illinois Jacquet. During this period, he also began recording as a leader of small groups featuring Max Roach, Sonny Stitt and Bud Powell. He performed with Charlie Parker at the 17 December 1947 Dial Records session, following Parker's release from Camarillo State Mental Hospital.[6]
In 1951, with bassist Oscar Pettiford and trumpeter Howard McGhee, Johnson toured the military camps of Japan and Korea, before returning to the United States and taking a day job as a blueprint inspector. Johnson admitted later he was still thinking of nothing but music during that time, and indeed, his Blue Note recordings as both a leader and with Miles Davis date from this period. Johnson's compositions "Enigma" and "Kelo" were recorded by Davis for Blue Note, and Johnson was part of the Davis studio session band that recorded the jazz standard "Walkin'" in 1954 (the title track of a Davis album issued by Prestige).
Jay and Kai
In 1954, producer
Solo career
Following the mid-1950s collaboration with Winding, J. J. Johnson began leading his own touring small groups for about three years, covering the United States, United Kingdom and Scandinavia. These groups (ranging from quartets to sextets) included tenor saxophonists
This period overlaps with the beginnings of Johnson's serious forays into
Following the six months he spent writing Perceptions (see below), Johnson entered the studio for a date with André Previn's trio (adding Johnson as the only horn). They recorded an entire album of the music of Kurt Weill, released as Andre Previn and J. J. Johnson Play 'Mack The Knife' and Other Kurt Weill Songs. In 1962, Johnson toured for a number of months with Davis' sextet of that year, which went unrecorded.
Johnson's 1963 album J. J.'s Broadway is an example of both his mature trombone style and sound, and his arranging abilities. Johnson's album Proof Positive (1964) was the last recording of his working band for over 20 years. Beginning in 1965, Johnson recorded a number of large group studio albums under his name, featuring many of his own compositions and arrangements. The late 1960s saw a radical downturn in the fortunes of many jazz musicians, and Johnson was consequently heard almost exclusively on big band-style studio records, usually backing a single soloist.
Composer
From the mid-1950s, but especially the early 1960s on, Johnson dedicated more and more time to
Hollywood
Johnson moved to California to compose for cinema and television.
Return to performing
Johnson returned to performing and recording in November 1987, with an engagement at the Village Vanguard in New York City. Tours of the United States, Europe and Japan followed as well as a return engagement to the Vanguard in July 1988 which yielded two albums worth of material.
While touring Japan in December 1988,[3] Johnson learned that his wife Vivian had suffered a bad stroke, which incapacitated her for the remaining three and a half years of her life. During this period Johnson cancelled all work, devoting his energy to caring for his ailing wife. After her death in 1991, he dedicated an album to her on Concord.
In 1992, Johnson married his second wife, Carolyn Reid, and he began actively performing once again. Following this second comeback in 1992, Johnson's contracts with a variety of record labels, including
Later diagnosed with prostate cancer, Johnson maintained a positive outlook and underwent treatment. He wrote a book of original exercises and études for jazz musicians, published later by Hal Leonard. A biography, titled The Musical World of J. J. Johnson, was published in 2000.
On February 4, 2001, he died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound.[7] His funeral in Indianapolis drew jazz musicians, friends and family from around the country.
Influence
Johnson's work in the 1940s and 1950s demonstrated that the slide trombone could be played in the bebop style; as trombonist Steve Turre has summarized, "J. J. did for the trombone what Charlie Parker did for the saxophone. And all of us that are playing today wouldn't be playing the way we're playing if it wasn't for what he did. And not only, of course, is he the master of the trombone—the definitive master of this century—but, as a composer and arranger, he is in the top shelf as well."[8]
Several of Johnson's compositions, including "Wee Dot", "Lament", and "Enigma" have become jazz standards.
From the mid-1950s onwards, Johnson was a perennial polling favorite in jazz circles, even winning "Trombonist of the Year" in DownBeat magazine during years he was not active. He was voted into the DownBeat Hall of Fame in 1995.
Discography
Bibliography
- The Musical World of J. J. Johnson by Joshua Berrett and Louis G. Bourgois (Rowman & Littlefield). ISBN 0-8108-3648-3
- Exercises and Etudes for the Jazz Instrumentalist by J. J. Johnson (Hal Leonard Corporation, February 1, 2002). ISBN 0-634-02120-6
References
- ^ Fordham, John (7 February 2001). "Obituary: JJ Johnson". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
- ^ a b Berendt, Joachim E (1976). The Jazz Book. Paladin. pp. 196–198.
- ^ ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
- ^ "A Golden Month For J. J. Johnson - December 1947". Trombone.org. Archived from the original on 2019-07-20. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
- ^ a b Scharmer, Victor (2004-03-04). "The Musical World Of J. J. Johnson". All About Jazz. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
- ISBN 0-7043-3094-6.
- ^ "Premier Exponent of Jazz Trombone". The Scotsman. 2001. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
- ^ Bernotas, Bob (1994). "An Interview with Steve Turre". Online Trombone Journal. Retrieved 2008-11-16.