Jj johnson trombone biography of rory gilmore
Then came one of his most significant early bands, a two-trombone group he co-led with Kai Winding -- the Jay and Kai Quintet -- from ; after a period of freelancing and bandleading, he re-joined Winding in The group was instrumental in demonstrating the power and possibilities of the trombone in modern jazz. In the late s, he began to gain recognition as a composer.
A commission from Dizzy Gillespie resulted in "Perceptions," a large-scale work for orchestra that was recorded for Verve Records. In , he started his professional career with Clarence Love, and then played with Snookum Russell in In he joined the big band of Count Basie , touring and recording with him until After leaving Basie in to play in small bebop bands in New York clubs, J.
During this period he also began recording as a leader of small groups featuring Max Roach , Sonny Stitt and Bud Powell. In , 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. The trombone styles and personalities of the two musicians, although very different, blended so well that the pairing, which lasted until August , was a huge success both musically and commercially.
They toured U. The duo reunited again in for a tour of Great Britain, an Impulse! The duo also made some jazz festival appearances in Japan in the early s, the last shortly before Winding died in May Following the mids collaboration with Winding, J. Johnson began leading his own touring small groups for about 3 years, covering the United States, United Kingdom and Scandinavia.
That affected his musical career and in , he left music. He balanced his work on a position as a blueprint inspector for Sperry Gyroscope during the day, while recording for small groups in his free time. After he recorded The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson in two volumes in , he came back to the jazz scene. The recording became a kind of audio textbook for jazz trombonists.
During his period of coming back, he collaborated with trombonist and jazz composer Kai Winding, with whom he created nine successful recordings. They became known as Jay and Kai Quintet. Two musicians were absolutely different as performers and personalities; however, they blended very well. Together, they frequently performed in the U.
In early s, their duo even appeared on jazz festivals in Japan. He also recorded Lament for the Savoy on the album Jay and Kai , which became his well-known original composition. From the mids Johnson switched to a solo career, collaborating with small groups and touring with them across the USA, Scandinavian countries and the UK. By , Johnson had received many positive feedbacks and awards, including an award from a Down Beat magazine, where he regularly held a reputation as a poll-winning trombonist.
The musician was interested in composition. Although he was still not permitted to play live concerts in New York, he managed to make his first European Tour in , visiting many cities including Stockholm and Sweden where he performed in front of huge crowds. He also recorded the album J. In , Johnson recorded a thirty-five-minute solo feature for Dizzy Gillespie Perceptions.
Jj johnson trombone biography of rory gilmore
Discography [ edit ]. Main article: J. Johnson discography. Bibliography [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. The Guardian. Retrieved 6 November The Jazz Book. Guinness Publishing. ISBN Johnson - December ". Archived from the original on Retrieved All About Jazz. Bird Lives! The Scotsman. Online Trombone Journal. External links [ edit ].
Years indicated are for the recording s , not first release except for the film scores. Johnson at the Opera House J. Johnson J. Sonny Stitt, Joyride Stanley Turrentine , Authority control databases. Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description matches Wikidata Short description is different from Wikidata Articles with hCards All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from May Webarchive template wayback links.
Toggle the table of contents. February 4, aged 77 Indianapolis, Indiana, U.