James P. Johnson

James P. Johnson stood among the foremost jazz pianists in history and reigned as the leading stride player throughout the 1920s. His club work in New York dates back to 1913, when he swiftly earned recognition as the defining stylist of his idiom. Piano rolls became part of his output beginning in 1917; Duke Ellington studied these performances by playing them at half speed, while a few years afterward Johnson took on the role of teacher and guiding influence for Fats Waller. Starting in 1921 he entered the recording studio, headlined nightly at Harlem rent parties alongside Waller and Willie “The Lion” Smith, and produced many of his best-known pieces during those years. One of roughly a dozen theater scores he supplied was for the 1923 Broadway production Running Wild, which featured his compositions “The Charleston” and “Old Fashioned Love.” The earlier solo showcase “Carolina Shout” served as a proving ground for rival pianists, and additional songs from the period included “If I Could Be with You One Hour Tonight” and “A Porter’s Love Song to a Chambermaid.”

Despite his standing as the era’s most refined pianist, Johnson proved equally adept at supporting blues vocalists and appeared on several landmark recordings with Bessie Smith and Ethel Waters. Beyond his own solo discs he directed lively small groups, made guest appearances with Perry Bradford and Clarence Williams, and shared billing with Fats Waller on multiple occasions. Drawn to extended composition, he created the 1927 work “Yamekraw” and devoted much of the 1930s to projects such as “Harlem Symphony,” “Symphony in Brown,” and a blues opera, although a substantial portion of this music has since disappeared. His performing schedule remained limited for most of that decade, yet he resumed recording in 1939, joined Eddie Condon’s ensembles on a regular basis, and stayed active into the 1940s even after suffering minor strokes. A severe stroke in 1955 ended his career. The bulk of his recorded legacy has since appeared on compact disc.