J. J. Johnson | |
|---|---|
 Johnson in a 1961DownBeat advertisement | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | James Louis Johnson |
| Also known as | Jay Jay Johnson |
| Born | (1924-01-22)January 22, 1924 Indianapolis,Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | February 4, 2001(2001-02-04) (aged 77) Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz,bebop,hard bop,third stream |
| Occupation(s) | Musician,composer |
| Instrument | Trombone |
| Years active | 1942–1996 |
J. J. Johnson (January 22, 1924 – February 4, 2001),[1] bornJames Louis Johnson and also known asJay Jay Johnson, was an Americanjazz trombonist,composer andarranger.
Johnson was one of the earliest trombonists to embracebebop.[2]
After studying the piano beginning at age 9, Johnson decided to playtrombone at the age of 14. In 1941, he began his professional career with Clarence Love, and then played withSnookum Russell in 1942. In Russell's band, he met thetrumpeterFats Navarro, who influenced him to play in the style of the tenorsaxophonistLester Young. Johnson played inBenny Carter's orchestra between 1942 and 1945,[3] and made his first recordings in 1943 under Carter's leadership, recording his first solo (on "Love for Sale") in October 1943. In 1944, he took part in the firstJazz at the Philharmonic concert,[3] presented in Los Angeles and organized byNorman Granz.[4] In 1945, he joined thebig band ofCount Basie, touring and recording with him until 1946.[3]
While the trombone was featured prominently indixieland andswing music, it fell out of favor amongbebop musicians, largely because instruments with valves and keys (trumpet, saxophone) were believed to be more suited to bebop's often rapid tempos and demand for technical mastery. In 1946, bebop co-founderDizzy Gillespie encouraged the young trombonist's development: "I've always known that the trombone could be played different, that somebody'd catch on one of these days. Man, you're elected."[5]
After leaving Basie in 1946 to play in small bebop bands in New York clubs,[3] Johnson toured in 1947 withIllinois Jacquet. During this period, he also began recording as a leader of small groups featuringMax Roach,Sonny Stitt andBud Powell. He performed withCharlie Parker at the 17 December 1947Dial Records session, following Parker's release fromCamarillo State Mental Hospital.[6]
In 1951, with bassistOscar Pettiford and trumpeterHoward 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, hisBlue Note recordings as both a leader and withMiles 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 ofa Davis album issued byPrestige).
In 1954, producerOzzie Cadena, then withSavoy Records, convinced Johnson to set up a combo with trombonistKai Winding: the "Jay and Kai Quintet".[3] The trombone styles and personalities of the two musicians, although very different, blended so well[2] that the pairing, which lasted until August 1956, was a success both musically and commercially. They toured U.S. nightclubs and recorded numerous albums. The duo reunited again in 1958 for a tour of the UK, anImpulse! studio album in 1960 and, in 1968–1969, (two albums for CTI/A&M Records). In January 1967, Johnson and Winding were in an all-star line-up (alongside the likes ofClark Terry,Charlie Shavers andJoe Newman) backingSarah Vaughan on her last sessions forMercury Records, released as the albumSassy Swings Again, with three of the cuts, includingBilly Strayhorn's "Take the "A" Train", being arranged by Johnson himself. The duo also made some jazz festival appearances in Japan in the early 1980s, the last shortly before Winding died in May 1983.
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 saxophonistsBobby Jaspar andClifford Jordan, cornetistNat Adderley, trumpeterFreddie Hubbard, pianistsTommy Flanagan andCedar Walton, and drummersElvin Jones,Albert "Tootie" Heath, and Roach. In 1957, he recorded the quartet albumsFirst Place andBlue Trombone, with Flanagan, Paul Chambers and Roach. He also toured with theJazz at the Philharmonic show in 1957 and 1960, the first tour yielding a live album, featuring Johnson and tenor saxophonistStan Getz. In 1958–59, Johnson was one of three plaintiffs in a court case which hastened the abolition of thecabaret card system.[5]
This period overlaps with the beginnings of Johnson's serious forays intoThird Stream music (see below). Periods of writing and recording his music would alternate with tours demanding attention to his playing.
Following the six months he spent writingPerceptions (see below), Johnson entered the studio for a date withAndré Previn's trio (adding Johnson as the only horn). They recorded an entire album of the music ofKurt Weill, released asAndre 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 albumJ. J.'s Broadway is an example of both his maturetrombone style and sound, and his arranging abilities. Johnson's albumProof 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.
From the mid-1950s, but especially the early 1960s on, Johnson dedicated more and more time tocomposition.[3] He became an active contributor to the Third Stream movement in jazz, (which included such other musicians asGunther Schuller andJohn Lewis), and wrote large-scale works which incorporated elements of both classical music and jazz. He contributed his "Poem for Brass" to a Third Stream compilation titledMusic for Brass in 1957, and composed a number of original works which were performed at theMonterey Jazz Festival in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In 1961, he composed asuite in six movements, titledPerceptions, with Gillespie as soloist. The First International Jazz Festival, held inWashington, D.C. in 1962, featured another extended work. In 1965, he spent time inVienna to perform and record hisEuro Suite with a jazz-classical fusion orchestra led byFriedrich Gulda. In 1968, a Johnson work titled "Diversions" was commissioned by theAmerican Wind Symphony and performed.
Johnson moved to California to compose for cinema and television.[3] During this period, he played almost no concerts, except in 1977 and 1982 in Japan, and in 1984 in Europe. Despite the low profile, he did record six albums as a leader between 1977 and 1984 (including a 1984 trombone duo album withAl Grey) and a few albums as a sideman, two with Basie, and onThe Sting II soundtrack. During the California period he also played in theCocoanut Grove orchestra ofSammy Davis Jr. and the TV orchestra ofCarol Burnett.
Johnson returned to performing and recording in November 1987, with an engagement at theVillage Vanguard inNew 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 onConcord.
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, includingVerve andAntilles, resulted in five albums as a leader, from small groups to separate brass orchestra and string orchestra recordings, as well as sideman appearances with his leading disciple, trombonistSteve Turre, and the vocalistAbbey Lincoln. He earned severalGrammy nominations during this period. He retired from active performing and touring in late 1996, after having performed his last concert atWilliam Paterson College on November 10, 1996, then choosing to stay at his home inIndianapolis where he could indulge his passion of composing and arranging music with computers andMIDI.
Later diagnosed withprostate cancer, Johnson maintained a positive outlook[citation needed] and underwent treatment. He wrote a book of original exercises and études for jazz musicians, published later byHal Leonard. A biography, titledThe 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.
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 whatCharlie 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 becomejazz standards.
From the mid-1950s onwards, Johnson was a perennial polling favorite in jazz circles, even winning "Trombonist of the Year" inDownBeat magazine during years he was not active. He was voted into theDownBeat Hall of Fame in 1995.
