Plas Johnson

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Plas John Johnson Jr. (* 21 July 1931 in Donaldsonville , Louisiana ) is an American tenor saxophonist of soul jazz and hard bop . He will be remembered for his play in Henry Mancini's " The Pink Panther Theme ".

Live and act

Plas Johnson learned the soprano saxophone from his father and studied at the Westlake School of Music in Los Angeles . He recorded with his brother Ray , a pianist, as The Johnson Brothers in New Orleans in the late 1940s ; then he toured with rhythm and blues singer Charles Brown . After his military service, he moved to Los Angeles, where he worked in the studios as a session musician and accompanied artists such as BB King and Johnny Otis and many other musicians on the R&B scene. An early sponsor was Maxwell Davis , who hired him to do recording sessions for the record label Modern Records .

In the mid-1950s, Johnson worked for the Capitol Records label and took part in numerous recordings, including Peggy Lee , Nat King Cole , Frank Sinatra and others. As a session musician, he worked in a broad musical spectrum for the next twenty years, including film scores and rock 'n' roll , such as for Ricky Nelson tracks . He has also appeared on many Beach Boys albums and has been a member of popular instrumental bands such as B. Bumble & the Stingers . In 1957/8 he played with Irving Ashby . He has also worked on recordings of many jazz musicians, such as Benny Carter (1959), Johnny Hartman , Les McCann , Gerald Wilson and Zoot Sims .

In 1963 he was involved in recording the legendary "Pink Panther" theme ( The Pink Panther ). He also had solos on themed music from television series such as The Odd Couple . Johnson also took part in recording sessions for the Motown label and starred on hits by Marvin Gaye , The Supremes and others. In the early 1960s he also recorded his own records under the pseudonym Johnny Beecher ( Sax Fifth Avenue , 1962).

In 1970 he played in the studio band on the Merv Griffin Show . For the next fifteen years he also worked regularly with musicians such as Ray Brown , Jimmy Cheatham , Herb Ellis (1974/5), Nat Pierce , Jake Hanna , Gene Harris (Europe Tour 1990), Benny Powell , Jack Sheldon and Kai Winding and Occasionally performed at jazz festivals. In 1991 he was with the Newport Festival All Stars in Europe. He also released albums under his own name such as Hot, Blue & Saxy , Evening Delight or Keep That Groove Going! (with Red Holloway ).

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personal data
SURNAME Johnson, Plas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Johnson, Plas John junior (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz saxophonist
DATE OF BIRTH July 21, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH Donaldsonville , Louisiana