James P. Johnson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| James P. Johnson | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | James Price Johnson |
| Born | February 1, 1894 |
| Origin |  New Brunswick, New Jersey |
| Died | November 17, 1955 (aged 61) |
| Genre(s) | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Composer Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Piano |
James Price Johnson (February 1, 1894–November 17, 1955) was an African-American pianist and composer. With Luckey Roberts, Johnson was one of the originators of the stride style of jazz piano playing.
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[edit] Biography
Johnson was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey. His family moved to New York City in 1908. His first professional engagement was at Coney Island in 1912. In 1911, while he was "still going to school in short pants", he attended Jelly Roll Morton's performance in Harlem and was inspired by the blues.
Beside being a jazz piano pioneer, and a most spontaneously inventive performer, Johnson penned hit tunes: "Charleston" (which debuted in his Broadway show Runnin' Wild in 1923,[1]although by some accounts Johnson had written it years earlier) became one of the most popular tunes and arguably the definitive dance number of the Roaring 1920s. Others are "If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight)," "You've Got to Be Modernistic," "Baby Don't Cry," "Keep off the Grass," "Old Fashioned Love," "A Porter's Love Song to a Chambermaid," "Carolina Shout," and "Snowy Morning Blues". He wrote music in many styles, including waltzes, ballet, symphonic pieces, and light opera; many of these ambitious, long-form pieces are presumed lost.
James Weldon Johnson, a pioneer of the African-American musical theater and renowned choral director, had this to say about Johnson's style of playing: "It was music of a kind I had never heard before... The barbaric harmonies, the audacious resolutions, often consisting of an abrupt jump from one key to another, the intricate rhythms in which the accents fell in the most unexpected places, but in which the beat was never lost, produced a most curious effect - the dexterity of his left hand in making rapid octave runs and jumps was little short of marvelous; and with his right he frequently swept half the keyboard with clean cut chromatics which he fitted in so nicely as never to fail to arouse in his listeners a sort of pleasant surprise at the accomplishment of the feat."
James P. Johnson taught Fats Waller and got him his first piano roll and recording assignments. Along with Fats Waller and Willie 'The Lion' Smith, 'The Big Three' defined the Harlem Stride piano style. "Carolina Shout" was their "Maple Leaf Rag" - the test piece that put every pianist on notice. Even Duke Ellington recorded it; ragtime infused with blues had become jazz.
Johnson recorded dozens of superb player piano roll recordings for the QRS Piano Roll Company in the 1920s and the Aeolian Company in the teens. It was during this period that he met and influenced George Gershwin, who was also a young piano-roll artist at Aeolian. He was also a strong influence on Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, and Thelonious Monk. His influence continues to this day in the work of Cyrus Chestnut, Harry Connick Jr., Mark Birnbaum and Reginald Robinson.
In addition to being a lyrical pianist with a warm, hearty sound, Johnson was also a sensitive and facile accompanist; Johnson often recorded with Ethel Waters and Bessie Smith, and was reportedly the latter's favorite pianist. Even guitarist Chet Atkins credited Johnson and "stride piano" as a major influence on his early style; Atkins covered Johnson's compositions on an early solo album of his, as well as his 1979 collaboration "The First Nashville Guitar Quartet."
In the late 1930s, Johnson was intermittently incapacitated by several strokes. When he returned to active performing in the early 1940s, he demonstrated his adaptability by leading a small swing group and performing regularly with Eddie Condon. He also did some studying and composing in these last few years with Maury Deutsch.
Johnson permanently retired from performing after a severe stroke in 1955. He died in Jamaica, New York.
[edit] Honors and recognitions
On September 16, 1995 the U.S. Post Office issues a James P. Johnson 32 cent commemorative postage stamp.[2]
| Year Inducted | Title | |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | ASCAP Jazz Wall of Fame[3] | |
| 1980 | Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame | |
| 1973 | Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame | |
| 1970 | Songwriters Hall of Fame |
[edit] Film Scores
Johnson's compositions as a film score were used in a number of movies, which were compiled from previously written musical compositions. Partial list includes:[4]
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] External links
- James P. Johnson on RedHotJazz.com Biography with RAM files of many of James P. Johnson's historic recordings
- James P. Johnson: A Composer Rescued -- The story of the discovery of "Victory Stride" and James P. Johnson's other lost symphonies by Leslie Stifleman
- The James P. Johnson Foundation For Music and The Arts
[edit] References
- Allen Lowe. Liner notes from CD Runnin' Wild (1921–1926)', James P. Johnson (Tradition)
