J.J. JOHNSON: J.J.'s Broadway

JAY JAY JOHNSON
Para encerrar a série de postagens sobre grandes trombonistas, nada melhor que o grande J.J, que influenciou a TODOS os que vieram depois dele.
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JAY JAY JOHNSON
J.J. Johnson was born James Louis in Indianapolis on January 22, 1924. At the age of 9, he studied piano with a church organist and became very interested in music during his second year at Crispus Attucks High School. The only school instrument available to him at the time was a baritone saxophone. J.J. played this instrument for a very short time and, at the age of fourteen, picked up the trombone. By the time he was eighteen, J.J. left home to play with Snookum Russel's band, of which Fats Navarro was also a member. He went on to play with other legendary jazzers Benny Carter (from '42-5), Count Basie (from '45-6), and Illinois Jacquet (from '47-9). His fluid style and rapid fire technique on the trombone soon gained him notoriety. His technique on slide trombone was so clean, in fact, that most people at the time swore he was playing valve trombone. J.J. moved to L.A. in 1970 to write music for movies and television. He was later assigned to write music for popular television shows. Oddly enough, J.J. was winning polls as the best jazz trombonist at this time, even though he wasn't actively playing. In the June 1997 issue of Downbeat magazine, J.J. announced his retirement from live performances. The next few years were spent in his hometown of Indianapolis, IN, composing works on his
Macintosh Quadra and occassionally offering input to the J.J. Johnson Mailing List.
A book also came out written by Joshua Berret and Louis Bourgois III entitled The Muscical World of J.J. Johnson. Tragedy struck the jazz and trombone community when on February 4, 2001, J.J. Johnson passed away.
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ALBUM REVIEW
More obscure J.J. Johnson LPs. On six of the ten songs, the great trombonist is joined by four others, while the remaining four tracks (the main reasons to search for this album) feature him in a quartet with pianist Hank Jones, bassist Richard Davis and drummer Walter Perkins. Johnson's writing on the larger group pieces lifts the material, which is all taken from Broadway shows, while his playing on the quartet tracks is up to his usual level. Some of the songs are now forgotten, but "My Favorite Things," "Make Someone Happy" and "Put on a Happy Face" are exceptions. This album has some good music, but it will be very difficult to find.
(By Scott Yanow)
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MY OPINION:
There is not a trombonist alive who has not been influenced by J. J. Johnson's sound, his message, or his love for the trombone.
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MINHA OPINIÃO - J.J. Johnson esteve sempre adiante do seu tempo: embora tenha vivido nos dias do jazz tradicional, antes mesmo da revolução "bebop" de Charlie Parker, ele já era diferente. Seu fraseado, seu "approach" já o colocavam num patamar diferente dos trombonistas daquela época. Humildemente, ele reconhece que foi influenciado por Dizzy Gillespie e Charlie Parker. Foi com essa humildade que assimilou as escalas do "bebop" e consolidou seu próprio e inconfundível estilo. Grandes nomes do trombone - de Rosolino a Vittor Santos - não negam que foram fortemente influenciados pelo grande mestre J.J. Este álbum com temas da Broadway é maravilhoso e nos traz uma grande (e desconhecida) música, de autoria de ANDRÉ PREVIN: o tema do filme "Two for the seesaw" (no Brasil, "Dois na gangorra"). Esta música é uma obra-prima, sofisticadíssima e complexa, em suas linhas melódica e harmônica. É um dos meus temas preferidos.
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J.J. JOHNSON: J.J.'s Broadway

TRACKS/FAIXAS:
1 Lovely [From A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the For] (Sondheim) 3:56
2 My Favorite Things [From The Sound of Music] (Hammerstein, Rodgers) 4:17
3 Mira (Merrill) 3:23
4 Make Someone Happy [From Do Re Mi] (Comden, Green, Styne) 3:51
5 Who Will Buy ? [From Oliver!] (Bart) 3:54
6 A Sleepin' Bee [From House of Flowers] (Arlen) 3:54
7 Put on a Happy Face [From Bye Bye Birdie] (Adams, Strouse) 4:06
8 Nobody's Heart [From by Jupiter] (Hart, Rodgers) 3:39
9 A Second Chance [From Two for the Seesaw] (Previn) 2:55
10 The Sweetest Sounds [From No Strings] (Rodgers) 3:28

PERSONNEL:

[#1, 3, 5, 6, 8 & 10]
J.J. Johnson - tb & arr
Urbie Green, Tommy Mitchell, Lou McGarity - tb
Paul Faulise - b tr
Chuck Israels - b
Walter Perkins - dr
(Tracks 4, 6 & 8 add. Hank Jones - p)
Recorded March 12, 1963 in NYC

[#2, 4, 7 & 9]
J.J. Johnson - tb
Hank Jones - p
Richard Davis - p
Walter Perkins - dr
Recorded April 6, 1964 in NYC.