James Louis "J.J." Johnson dies

INDIANAPOLIS -- James Louis “J.J." Johnson, an influential jazz trombonist who later forged a career arranging and recording scores for motion pictures and television, died Sunday. He was 77. Johnson, who had been ill in recent months, committed suicide at his home Sunday morning, the Marion County Sheriff's Department said. The Indianapolis native, who began playing piano at age 11, was a perennial winner of “Down Beat" magazine's reader's poll as best trombonist. While he was praised by jazz aficionados, Johnson also made his mark in popular culture, writing and arranging music for such television shows as “Starsky and Hutch", “Mayberry, R.F.D." and “That Girl." His film music credits included “Cleopatra Jones" and “Shaft." During his long career, he performed with such jazz greats as Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie. While touring with jazz bands during the heyday of those ensembles, he played with the Clarence Love and Snookum Russell bands. He got his first big break with the Benny Carter band in 1942. (AP)