Bill Johnson (August 10, 1874 - December 3, 1972)
Bill Johnson was one of the very important players in early jazz history. You won't hear that statement made very often. But, bassists are often happy in the back holding everything together and not taking too much credit - usually just happy to be making a living and making good music.
I don't know if all that's true of Bill Johnson as a person but it's a safe bet, after considering some reading on the man's history, that he did quite a lot for the musical genre and will probably always be remembered in the shadows of the big stars.
It is important to note that Bill Johnson lead the band "The Original Creole Orchestra." He toured the country as early as 1909 with that band. The band landed in Chicago in 1918. There he hired Joe "King" Oliver to front the band - eventually, the band became Joe Oliver's which was the launch pad for Louis Armstrong.
Not only was Bill Johnson important to jazz itself, he was important to jazz bass playing. He is very often touted as the first slap bass player.
Who knows if that is true or not?
- What we know for sure is that folks like Pops Foster and Milt Hinton (as well as many others) are the ones giving him that credit.
- We also know that he was certainly one of the technique's more prominent stylists and that he did a good bit to popularize it (along Wellman Braud, Pops Foster, Steve Brown and Al Morgan on a national level.)
Happy Birthday to Bill Johnson!
I will play in his name all week.
Some links:
(these are just brief bios on the guy; if you're really interested, there is a lot of info that pops up just by Googling his name)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Johnson_(jazz_musician)
http://www.redhotjazz.com/johnson.html
"Treat the Earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children."
- Native American proverb
Bill Johnson was one of the very important players in early jazz history. You won't hear that statement made very often. But, bassists are often happy in the back holding everything together and not taking too much credit - usually just happy to be making a living and making good music.
I don't know if all that's true of Bill Johnson as a person but it's a safe bet, after considering some reading on the man's history, that he did quite a lot for the musical genre and will probably always be remembered in the shadows of the big stars.
It is important to note that Bill Johnson lead the band "The Original Creole Orchestra." He toured the country as early as 1909 with that band. The band landed in Chicago in 1918. There he hired Joe "King" Oliver to front the band - eventually, the band became Joe Oliver's which was the launch pad for Louis Armstrong.
Not only was Bill Johnson important to jazz itself, he was important to jazz bass playing. He is very often touted as the first slap bass player.
Who knows if that is true or not?
- What we know for sure is that folks like Pops Foster and Milt Hinton (as well as many others) are the ones giving him that credit.
- We also know that he was certainly one of the technique's more prominent stylists and that he did a good bit to popularize it (along Wellman Braud, Pops Foster, Steve Brown and Al Morgan on a national level.)
Happy Birthday to Bill Johnson!
I will play in his name all week.
Some links:
(these are just brief bios on the guy; if you're really interested, there is a lot of info that pops up just by Googling his name)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Johnson_(jazz_musician)
http://www.redhotjazz.com/johnson.html
"Treat the Earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children."
- Native American proverb
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