J.J. Johnson

American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger
Born January 22, 1924, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, died February 4, 2001, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
1941-1942: he toured with the territory bands of Clarence Love and [a1705697].
1942-1945: With [a258701]'s big band. Made his recording debut (soloed on "Love for Sale" in October 1943) and played at the first Jazz at the Philharmonic (JATP) concert (July 1944).
1945-1946: [a253011].
1946-1960: Performed with [a257114] (1947-49) and worked with all of the top bop musicians, including Charlie Parker (with whom he recorded in 1947), the Dizzy Gillespie big band, and the Miles Davis 'Birth of the Cool' Nonet. His own recordings from the era included work with Coleman Hawkins (in a group which included Fats Navarro), Bud Powell and Sonny Rollins. He also recorded with the [a311056].
1951-1952: played with Oscar Pettiford and Miles Davis.
1954-1956: formed a two-trombone quintet with Kai Winding that became known as [a1696791], reunions would follow.
1956-1960: led a quintet that often included [a298943]; began to focus more on his own compositions, starting with 1956's "Poem for Brass" (issued on Columbia CL 941) and including "El Camino Real" and a feature for Dizzy Gillespie, the album "Perceptions" (Verve V6-8411); his "Lament" became a standard.
1961-1962: worked again with Miles Davis, and led some small groups of his own.
1960's: greater part of time spent writing television and film scores.
By the 1970's, Johnson was sufficiently well-known to continue winning "DownBeat" polls despite his effective absence from the jazz scene. However, starting with a Japanese tour in 1977, Johnson gradually returned to a busy performance schedule; during the 1980's he would go on to lead a quintet that often featured [a552908].