Jazz Articles about J.J. Johnson

About J.J. Johnson

Album Review

From the start of a decade, this tried to blend old faces with a new sound. The electric piano starts up; the sound flits from speaker to speaker in annoying fashion. The rhythm gets behind, Billy Higgins getting a firm hand on things. And then J.J. enters: dark and rich and full of confidence. He stutters his solo with short tight trumpet notes, then goes rumply with some guttural clusters. Tommy Flanagan goes quiet and cool, his electric stating the ...

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Album Review

J. J. Johnson and Ray Anderson: Heroes and Funkorific

by John Sharpe
March 1, 1999

Many years ago, I played the trombone in my high-school band. Personally, I found it to be a rather awkward, unwieldy instrument. These two discs demonstrate that, in the hands of master musicians, the old 'bone is capable of great range and expressive versatility. Heroes and Funkorific are a study in contrasts between the legendary veteran Johnson and Anderson, the “young lion." J.J. Johnson is rightly credited with adapting bebop to the trombone. His warm tone has changed little over ...

250

Album Review

J.J. Johnson: Heroes

by Jim Santella
March 1, 1999

Still paving the way for younger trombone-playing leaders and composers, J.J. Johnson at 75 plays that instrument better than any other jazz artist does. Remember Kid Ory, Jack Teagarden, Vic Dickenson, Glenn Miller, and Tommy Dorsey? Don’t forget Frank Rosolino. And there’s Urbie Green, John Fedchock, Steve Turre, Wycliffe Gordon, Robin Eubanks, and Ray Anderson. Lots more names too, but the list is nothing compared to the large numbers of trumpeters and tenor saxophone players who’ve led bands and whose ...