Many regard J.J. Johnson as the greatest jazz trombonist in history. He applied the revolutionary approaches pioneered by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie to the trombone, navigating rapid passages with such fluidity that audiences sometimes believed he was using a valve instrument instead of a slide model. Between 1941 and 1942 Johnson traveled with the territory bands of Clarence Love and Snookum Russell, then remained with Benny Carter’s orchestra from 1942 to 1945. His first recording date took place with Carter, featuring a solo on “Love for Sale” in 1943, and he appeared at the inaugural JATP concert in 1944. Extended solo space followed during his stint in Count Basie’s Orchestra from 1945 to 1946.
From 1946 through 1950 Johnson worked alongside the foremost bop musicians, recording with Charlie Parker in 1947, appearing with the Dizzy Gillespie big band, touring with Illinois Jacquet between 1947 and 1949, and joining the Miles Davis Birth of the Cool Nonet. His own sessions from the period employed Bud Powell and a young Sonny Rollins, while additional dates linked him to the Metronome All-Stars. He performed with Oscar Pettiford in 1951 and Miles Davis in 1952 before withdrawing from music to inspect blueprints for two years, 1952–1954.
In August 1954 Johnson assembled a two-trombone quintet with Kai Winding; billed as Jay and Kai, the ensemble drew strong audiences for the next two years. After the partners parted, though they reunited occasionally, Johnson led another quintet that regularly featured Bobby Jaspar. He began writing large-scale pieces with “Poem for Brass” in 1956, followed by “El Camino Real” and “Perceptions,” the latter composed as a showcase for Dizzy Gillespie, while his “Lament” entered the standard repertoire. He rejoined Miles Davis for portions of 1961–1962, continued heading small groups, and by the late 1960s devoted himself primarily to television and film scoring.
Johnson’s renown remained so great that he continued winning Downbeat polls throughout the 1970s despite having stepped away from performance. A Japanese tour in 1977 initiated his gradual return to active playing, and in the 1980s he fronted a quintet that frequently included Ralph Moore. He sustained his preeminent standing into the mid-1990s, yet prostate cancer in the late 1990s and early 2000s led to his suicide on February 4, 2001.
