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Johnny Hodges

"Never the world's most highly animated showman orgreatest stage personality, but a tone so beautiful itsometimes brought tears to the eyes, this was JohnnyHodges. Because of this great loss, our band will never sound the same. Johnny Hodges sometimes sounded beautiful, sometimes romantic, and sometimes peoplespoke of his tone as being sensuous. With the exception of a year or so, almost his entire career was with us. So faras our wonderful listening audience was concerned, therewas a great feeling of expectancy when they looked up andsaw Johnny Hodges sitting in the middle of the saxophonesection, in the front row.I am glad and thankful that I had the privilege of presenting ohnny Hodges for forty years, night after night. I imagine I have been much envied, but thanks to God...” Duke Ellington eulogy.

John Cornelius Hodges was born on the 25th July 1907 in Cambridge, Mass. He started his musical career playingdrums and piano before taking up the saxophone at the ageof 14, beginning on the soprano and later the alto. Originallyself-taught he was given lessons by Sydney Bechet, whomhe got to know through his sister. He followed Bechet intoWillie 'The Lion' Smith's quartet at the Rhythm Club (around1924), then played in the house band with Bechet's Club‘Basha’ in Harlem. He continued to live in Boston andtraveled to New York at weekends playing with suchmusicians as Bobby Sawyer (1925), Lloyd Scott (1926),then from late 1926 with the great Chick Webb at ThePaddock Club and The Savoy Ballroom, etc. followed by ashort stint with Luckey Roberts.

In May 1928 Johnny joined Duke Ellington's orchestra andhe remained a mainstay of the group for the next 40 years.From his first recording in 1928 he revealed his authorityand technical mastery of the saxophone, playing with abroad, sweeping tone and producing impressive, cascadingruns. In the opinion of many people, he soon became Duke's most valuable soloist. He made hundreds ofrecordings with Duke and from 1937 led his own smallstudio group drawn from the orchestra which made manysuccessful series of recordings for Victor and other labels.Titles included “Jeep's Blues,” “Hodge Podge,” “The Jeepis Jumpin” all of which were co-written with Duke. Also in thisperiod of great creativity he played in many other smallgroups with musicians such as Lionel Hampton, TeddyWilson, etc., producing classics of the period.

Johnny was one of the many stars of the Ellington band ofthe 40s producing solos of immense authority on songssuch as “Things Ain't What They Used To Be,” “Don't GetAround Much Any More,” “Passion Flower,” etc. From the40s he concentrated on the alto leaving the soprano alonecompletely and in this period he regularly won the popularitypolls run by magazines such as Downbeat, Metronome, andEsquire.

Duke Ellington's Concert of Sacred Music

by Chuck Lenatti
June 1, 2025

In 1964, Dean D.J. Bartlett and the Reverend John S. Yaryan invited Duke Ellington and his orchestra to present a concert to consecrate the renovated Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill in San Francisco during a year-long festival of Grace. At first, Duke demurred. In his autobiography, Music Is My Mistress (Da Capo, 1976), Ellington explained why he changed his mind: It has been said once that a man who could not play the organ or any ...

Extended Analysis

The Duke Ellington Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1943

by Chuck Lenatti
November 20, 2024

Duke Ellington was one of the most popular and successful jazz musicians of the first half of the 20th century and according to composer Gunther Schuller and musicologist and historian Barry Kernfeld, “the most significant composer of the genre." Radio broadcasts from his residency at New York's Cotton Club beginning in 1927 extended Ellington's orchestra's national exposure and a parade of hit records, from “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo" in 1926 to “C Jam Blues" in 1942, among many ...

Album Review

Duke Ellington: Copenhagen 1958

Read "Copenhagen 1958" reviewed by Ken Dryden

by Ken Dryden
September 9, 2024

Duke Ellington left a formidable discography at his death at the age of 75 in 1974, and it has expanded greatly with the number of concerts that have been uncovered and issued since then. This CD is drawn from two 1958 concerts at KB Hallen in Copenhagen, though they are not sourced from the original, long lost broadcast tapes, but dubs evidently made by a fan. What makes this a valuable find is that the band is in top form ...

Album Review

Duke Ellington: Copenhagen 1958

Read "Copenhagen 1958" reviewed by Jack Kenny

by Jack Kenny
May 23, 2024

Duke Ellington hated flying so, in 1958, Ellington and Co sailed into Southampton UK to prepare for a tour of Europe. Before going on to Copenhagen, Ellington completed a tour of the UK, taking in Leeds where he met Queen Elizabeth, an event which eventually resulted in the “Queen's Suite." Earlier in the year, his strange obsession with royalty had produced a piece for Princess Margaret, “Princess Blue'" The band was particularly strong in this part of its ...

Radio & Podcasts

I Heart The Jazz With Strings Genre + Porgy & Bess

by David Brown
June 6, 2023

I heart the jazz with strings genre. Tonight, the most bizarre of these records, the great Johnny Hodges with Lawrence Welk's Orchestra. We then check our coats at the famed Chicago supper club Mr. Kelly's for some vocals from Sarah Vaughan and Anita O'Day. Then, after a set of new releases including Chicago's Natural Information Society and South Africa's Ahser Gamedze, we will check out a set of jazz interpretations of songs from “Porgy and Bess." Enjoy. Playlist ...

Book Review

Rabbit’s Blues: The Life and Music of Johnny Hodges

by S.G Provizer
January 21, 2020

Rabbit's Blues: The Life and Music of Johnny Hodges Con Chapman 240Pages ISBN: #9780190055288 Oxford University Press 2019 Alto and soprano saxophonist Johnny Hodges was one of the most singular voices in jazz. He didn't play the horn as much as sing through it. Hodges made a large, long-term contribution to the music, both as a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra and on his own. He was also a somewhat inscrutable, ...

Radio & Podcasts

Still Swinging - Ellington, Hodges, Gonsalves, Carter in the 1960s (1960 - 1966)

by Russell Perry
November 5, 2019

Duke Ellington and Benny Carter, whose careers stretched back to the 1920s, continued to be vital musical presences in the 1960s. In this hour we will hear examples of their late career work and that of two veteran Ellingtonians, alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges and tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves. Swing giants in the 1960s in this hour of Jazz at 100. Playlist Host Intro 0:00 Duke Ellington Trio and John Coltrane Trio “In A Sentimental Mood" from Duke Ellington ...

Recording

Johnny Hodges: 3 Shades of Blue (1970)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
April 2, 2024

Yesterday, I posted on Webster's Dictionary, a rare late-career album by tenor saxophonist Ben Webster and arranged by Stan Tracey that is virtually unknown by even ardent jazz fans. To continue my series on great saxophonists and little-known gems in their final years, today I'm looking at Johnny Hodges's 3 Shades of Blue, arranged and conducted by Oliver Nelson. Recorded in 1970 over two dates in March for the Flying Dutchman label, the album showcased the alto saxophonist with a ...
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Video / DVD

Backgrounder: Johnny Hodges and Ben Webster

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
September 4, 2022

Alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges and tenor saxophonist Ben Webster were a perfect pair. Hodges played with a smooth, bluesy sweetness while Webster offset that with his breathy, husky tone. Both recorded together in the Duke Ellington Orchestra in the 1930s and '40s, and they paired off again in the 1950s on small-group dates. My favorite sessions featuring them in tandem is the so-called Jazz Cellar session of November 1960. It was recorded at a San Francisco club without an audience. ...
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Recording

Backgrounder: Johnny Hodges and Earl Hines

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
August 25, 2022

Video / DVD

Wild Bill Davis & Johnny Hodges

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
October 25, 2017

Before Jimmy Smith, Shirley Scott, Big John Patton, Jimmy McGriff, Brother Jack McDuff, Groove Holmes and all the other organists you know, there was Wild Bill Davis. Born in Missouri, Davis started his recording career in 1945 as organist and arranger for Louis Jordan and His Tympani Five, one of the leading pioneers of rhythm and blues. When Davis left Jordan in 1951, he led a trio and began recording for Okeh. Perhaps his best known recording today is April ...
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Recording

Ben Webster and Johnny Hodges

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
July 13, 2015

In the fall of 1960, Ben Webster was on the West Coast freelancing and recording. Johnny Hodges was out there as well with the Duke Ellington Orchestra to perform at the Monterey Jazz Festival. On Nov. 22, two days before Thanksgiving, Webster and Hodges were in San Francisco to record an album for the Verve label that was never released. The CD should be added to any list of jazz albums that will instantly convert non-believers into life-long fans. The ...
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Video / DVD

Johnny Hodges and Will Bill

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
April 9, 2014

Exceptional jazz musicians win us over with a warm tone, lyrical lines, a feel for the blues, respect for space, sheer speed or stamina—to name just a handful of winning traits. But not all exceptional jazz musicians work well together and only a bunch of couplings have produced dazzling results. Perfect partnerships that come to mind include Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday and Lester Young, Max Roach and Clifford Brown, John Coltrane and McCoy Tyner, Blue Mitchell and ...
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Video / DVD

Video: Johnny Hodges, 1969

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
April 4, 2014

Johnny Hodges was an alto saxophonist who joined Duke Ellington in 1928 and developed a sweet, high-vibrato sound popularized in the 1930s by Benny Carter. He also was one of the smoothest swing improvisers on the instrument, praised by reed masters from Benny Goodman to Charlie Parker. Yesterday, I spent a few hours listening to “Rabbit," as Hodges was known, so I thought I'd share a few terrific video clips from 1969 with you... Here's Hodges with Ellington in Berlin ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Johnny Hodges

Source: Michael Ricci
July 25, 2009

All About Jazz is celebrating Johnny Hodges' birthday today!

JAZZ MUSICIAN OF THE DAY Johnny Hodges

Johnny Hodges - alto saxophone, (1907-1970) “Never the world\'s most highly animated showman or greatest stage personality, but a tone so beautiful it sometimes brought tears to the eyes, this was Johnny Hodges. Because of this great loss... more

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