J.J. Johnson

James Louis “J.J.” Johnson (b. Indianapolis, January 22, 1924 – d. Indianapolis, February 4, 2001) – Trombonist, composer, and arranger. After learning to play the piano, Johnson took up the trombone at fourteen, and his masterful technique, creativity, and brilliant sound made him the leading trombonist of the post-swing era (especially significant in hard bop and third stream). Fresh out of Crispus Attucks High School, Johnson tried his luck in New York City, where he got his first big break playing with Benny Carter. After beginning his recording career in 1946, Johnson’s rapid-fire technique soon made him the “Charlie Parker of the trombone.” He performed and recorded with many revolutionary individuals and groups including Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and Count Basie. Of particular note, in 1954, he formed the legendary group “Jay and Kai” with fellow trombonist Kai Winding. Working partly as a composer and arranger for film, Johnson spent many years in Hollywood, and his compositions and arrangements can be heard in such films as Shaft, Across 110^th Street, and Cleopatra Jones and on the television shows The Mob Squad, The Six Million Dollar Man, and Starsky and Hutch. His final years were spent in Indianapolis, where he suffered from prostate cancer and eventually ended his own life through a self-inflicted gunshot wound.