J. J. Johnson Sextet – June 22 1953
Leonard Feather: The Eminent J.J. Johnson Volume 1
Jay Jay's companions on this date are Clifford Brown, the extraordinary young trumpet star from Wilmington, Delaware, already familiar to Blue Note listeners from numerous other LP appearances; Jimmy 'Little Bird' Heath on tenor and baritone sax and his brother Percy Heath on bass; John Lewis, the brilliant pianist and arranger; and Kenny Clarke, paterfamilias of the modern drum school.
Turnpike is built on a simple, jumping two-note phrase around the tonic. Observe Clifford Browns use of the “cycle of fifths” chord pattern on his second solo chorus; the others follow suit in their solos.
Lover Man, has been recorded dozens of times, but never more charmingly than in this trombone solo version, played by Jay Jay throughout except for an eight-bar piano interlude.
 |
| Jay Jay Johnson, Jimmy Heath, Clifford Brown Photo by Francis Wolff |
Sketch 1 might aptly be titled John Lewis' Mind At Work. An ingenious sample of Lewis' ability to make the most out of a modest instrumentation, it employs a variety of approaches; Jimmy Heath playing a melodic baritone line against brass unison, Clifford Brown playing muted double-time effects against abrupt punctuation, a typical Jay Jay solo, then a return to the original slow mood and a simple unison horn ending.
Capri is a fast original by former Hampton saxophonist Gigi Gryce, built on a rising and falling phrase. All four soloists contribute handsomely; a special point of interest is the Jimmy Heath tenor solo which seems to suggest how he got his nickname, for his style is strongly reminiscent of the rare tenor saxophone contributions of Charlie Parker.
It Could Happen to You, Jay Jay performs this beautiful tune in a style that combines o respect for the melody with a reflection of his individual personality.
 |
| April 1954 New Releases |
Bob Blumenthal: RVG CD Reissue Liner Notes 2001 (5 32143 2)
For over four decades, until his death on February 4, 2001, J.J. Johnson (or Jay Jay, as his early recordings had it) was the preeminent voice on trombone. So fixed was his position at the top of the polls — even during his years of film scoring and his subsequent retirement from performing — it is easy to forget that his stature with the public, and that of his peers among the modernists, was not always so exalted. At the time this recording session took place in 1953, Johnson had responded to the lean times facing his jazz generation by withdrawing from full-time playing in favor of a more secure factory job. When the titles were reissued on 12" LP two years later, Johnson's fortunes had reversed, and he was celebrating the first of a string of poll victories that would spread across the decades. These are some of the performances that helped turn matters around.
Fellow musicians had appreciated Johnson's technical innovations and supreme musicality for over a decade, at least since the Indianapolis native (born on January 22, 1924) had left home at age 18 with the Snookum Russell band. Big band work with Benny Carter and then Count Basie, and celebrated gigs such as Norman Granz's first Jazz at the Philharmonic concert, established Johnson as the boldest new voice on his instrument even before he became a regular presence on 52nd Street in 1946. His early recording sessions for Savoy and Prestige, with the likes of Bud Powell, Sonny Stitt and a young Sonny Rollins among the supporting cast, also marked Johnson as a gifted composer and arranger, while two years touring in the popular small group of his former Basie-mate Illinois Jacquet helped raise the trombonist's profile with the public.
Around 1950, the music business went through one of the periodic downturns that have always seemed to hit jazz artists earliest and hardest. Being a serious and responsible individual with a family, Johnson opted for a job inspecting blueprints in a Sperry factory in 1952. As with several of his famous contemporaries, what kept him in the public eye to any extent at all was his affiliation with Blue Note Records, which began at a 1950 date led by Howard McGhee. Another trumpeter and close friend, Miles Davis, featured Johnson in two of his own sextets for the label, including an April 1953 session (reissued on Miles Davis Volume 2 in the RVG Series) that included two Johnson compositions.
Like Davis, Johnson would record three sessions for Blue Note in this period that were released on the short-lived 10" LP format. This was the first of the three, and turned out to be a most auspicious gathering of giants. Sensational trumpeter Clifford Brown was making only his third jazz date, having recorded with Lou Donaldson for Blue Note and Tadd Dameron for Prestige earlier in the month of June. At the end of August, he would debut as a leader in his own Blue Note session. (Both this and the Donaldson date are contained in the RVG volume Clifford Brown Memorial Album). Jimmy Heath, still primarily known as a former alto player so close to his idol Charlie Parker he had been nicknamed Little Bird, and his brother, bassist Percy Heath, were both with Johnson on the April Miles Davis session. John Lewis, Percy Heath and Kenny Clarke had already begun working with vibist Milt Jackson in what would become the Modern Jazz Quartet. Both Heaths, Clarke, Jackson and Davis had also logged time with the trombonist in a short-lived group associated with deejay Symphony Sid called Jazz, 'Inc.
 |
| Rehearsal Photo by Francis Wolff |
This talented and highly compatible lineup produced six master takes for the original LP, plus three alternates that appeared on later 12" LP reissues. The entire session is presented here, with master takes in the order of their recording, followed by the alternates.
"Capri" was written by the talented alto saxophonist/composer Gigi Gryce, who would soon team with Brown in the Lionel Hampton band and on several recordings. The inspiring chord sequence finds Johnson anything but rusty in his two choruses, with Heath, the extremely confident and fluent Brown and Lewis following. The master take (recorded after the alternate) is slightly faster, with a more outgoing solo from the leader and a strong saxophone chorus that suggested Charlie Parker on tenor to original annotator Leonard Feather.
"Lover Man" is one of two ballads included here that make one wonder how Johnson ever got tagged as a "mechanical" player. His sound is tender and he embellishes the melody gracefully, while his arrangement uses the other horns judiciously and to telling effect. John Lewis is also outstanding in his eight-bar solo.
"Turnpike" is Johnson's only composition on the date, with the bold introduction yielding a contrastingly simple two-note theme akin to Monk's "Thelonious" in the A section of the AABA chorus. In their second choruses, each soloist blows over a pattern based on the cycle of fifths that is scored for the other horns when Jimmy Heath and Johnson take their turns. Jimmy plays baritone sax in the ensembles and tenor on his solo choruses, while Clarke and Percy Heath step forward on the out chorus. The later alternate take finds each of the horn players sustaining his exemplary level of execution, with Lewis in a most playful mood.
 |
| Photo by Francis Wolff |
The pianist's more serious side emerges in "Sketch 1," a theme of stately beauty that one can imagine being interpreted by the MJQ. Lewis's arrangement takes the melody through several moods with Jimmy Heath's baritone sax initially in the lead, the composer offering more ruminative consideration, Brown in a rare muted appearance after a dramatic ensemble flourish, and Johnson at his warmest. The trombone solo is followed by an out-of-tempo variation for the horns before the baritone sax restates the melody.
Brown and Jimmy Heath lay out on "It Could Happen to You," a contemplative Johnson ballad feature enhanced by Lewis's articulate accompaniment. All members of the quartet bear down at the start of the second chorus without resorting to double-time, and Johnson frames the whole performance with a lyrical introduction and coda.
Spirits soar again on "Get Happy," where Johnson gets a great sound from the three-horn front line. Everyone is loose, strong, and extremely comfortable with both the hard swing generated by the rhythm section and the harmonic suspension that Johnson employs in the final eight bars of each blowing chorus. The later alternate take finds the trombone beginning with a cleverly oblique quote of "Why Was I Born?," while Lewis is limited to a single solo chorus.
It would be another 14 months before Johnson returned to the recording studio as a leader. On that occasion, he teamed with fellow trombonist Kai Winding on Savoy for what proved to be the start of a popular two-year partnership. Two more important sessions without Winding followed, and are collected on The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson Volume 2.
 |
| Photo by Francis Wolff |
Ira Gitler: The Complete Blue Note And Pacific Jazz Recordings of Clifford Brown – Mosaic Records – MR5-104
This was a date led by trombonist J. J. Johnson. At the time he was working as a blueprint inspector for the Sperry Gyroscope Company and would not leave that job until June 1954. This was Johnson's first date as a leader since an October 1949 date for Prestige. He and John Lewis not only contribute as instrumentalists but also as writers. There is also a score by Gigi Gryce.
Gryce's Capri is a nostalgic theme with lovely changes. J. J. is his usual smooth self, staying close to the theme in the first chorus and branching out in the second. After Jimmy Heath's chorus, Brownie takes off, eating up the changes like a hip PacMan. Lewis' elegant swing rounds out the solos.
Capri (master take) has J. J. using more improvisation in his first chorus than on the previous take but still using the melody as a touchpoint. Brownie is brilliant.
The horns play chords for Johnson as he delineates Lover Man with his velvet sound. A Lewis bridge is the only other solo contribution.
Johnson's highballing Turnpike (master take) is a one-note theme akin, in some ways, to Monk's Thelonious. The release is just that (J. J. skips through the first one in the theme chorus) and the soloists employ a "cycle of fifths" in dealing with it throughout the piece. Brownie is the personification of speedy creativity on a title that for him is sadly prophetic. Four days and three years later was to be his tragic date with the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Heath does some Dexter Gordonish-cum-Prez note riding; J. J. displays the kind of articulation that made him the king of the bop bones; and Lewis lilts, even at up tempo. Kenny Clarke gets a chance amidst the ride-out riffing.
 |
| Photo by Francis Wolff |
The alternate of Turnpike follows the same lines with the soloists retaining some of ideas from the previous take and adding new thoughts. Brownie is again outstanding.
Lewis ' Sketch One utilizes Heath on baritone saxophone with the other horns first answering him and then blending in. Lewis' piano comes to the fore over the horns and Brownie's finely filigreed muted figures take center stage, his bluesiness bursting out from time to time. Johnson's open, lambent horn
is the second and last solo before the romantically mournful theme.
Down Beat 10 February 1954 Volume 21 Issue 3
Jay Jay gets most of the solo space and fills it admirably both on ballads like Lover Man and It Could Happen and on the uptempo tunes including his own precipitous Turnpike. Also highlighted are the authoritative, staccato accents of trumpeter Clifford Brown. Jimmy Heath is on tenor and baritone and the excellent rhythm section consists of John Lewis, Percy Heath, and Kenny Clarke.
Of the originals, John Lewis’ Sketch 1 has the most interesting line, one that could be developed further with considerable profit. Recording is good, as are Frank Wolff’s photographs. It’s ironic that as good as Jay Jay is on these and his other records, he’s had to get a day job to assure subsistence. It’s not often easy being a jazzman. (Blue Note 5028)
Clifford Brown, trumpet; Jay Jay Johnson, trombone; Jimmy Heath, tenor, baritone sax; John Lewis, piano; Percy Heath, bass; Kenny Clarke, drums.
WOR Studios, NYC, June 22, 1953
BN503-2 tk.3, Capri (alt), Blue Note BLP 1506
BN503-3 tk.4, Capri, Blue Note 1621, BLP 5028, BLP 1505
BN504-0 tk.5, Lover Man, Blue Note BLP 5028, BLP 1505
BN505-0 tk.6, Turnpike, Blue Note 1621, BLP 5028, BLP 1505
BN505-2 tk.8, Turnpike (alt), Blue Note BLP 1506
BN506-2 tk.11, Sketch One, Blue Note BLP 5028, BLP 1505
BN507-0 tk.12, It Could Happen To You, Blue Note BLP 5028, BLP 1506
BN508-0 tk.14, Get Happy, Blue Note BLP 5028, BLP 1505, BLP 1001, BST 89903
BN508-1 tk.15, Get Happy (alt)
No comments:
Post a Comment