Bunk Johnson

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Bunk Johnson as a member of the Superior Orchestra
Bunk Johnson and Leadbelly
Photography by William P. Gottlieb .

William Geary "Bunk" Johnson (born December 27, 1879 in New Orleans , † July 7, 1949 in New Iberia , Louisiana ) was an American cornet player and trumpeter of traditional jazz . He is considered the central figure of the New Orleans revival.

Live and act

Johnson belonged to the first generation of jazz cornetists around Buddy Bolden , Freddie Keppard and King Oliver . It is believed that for reasons that have not yet been clarified, he moved his year of birth forward by 10 years and was actually born in 1889. At the turn of the century he allegedly joined Adam Olivier's band, which he left due to his lack of knowledge of sheet music to a. to play at Buddy Bolden. He played in New Orleans in 1910 in the Superior Orchestra of Billy Marrero, switched to Dusen's Eagle Band in the same year and then played with Clarence Williams . In 1916 he played with the Royal Orchestra in Lake Charles , in 1917 in Baton Rouge ; Then he toured with a vaudeville - minstrel show and a circus . After the 1920s he was a member of the Black Eagle Band , but also toured with the Banner Band . In 1931 there was a momentous incident when the Black Eagle Band was involved in an argument during a concert, as a result of which a band member was killed and almost all of the band's instruments were destroyed. Bunk Johnson lost most of his teeth in addition to his instruments and settled in New Iberia in 1932 . With the onset of the swing era, he was forced to make a living. a. earning as a truck driver, worker and part-time music teacher for children and was forgotten.

In 1937, however, the authors of the book Jazzmen , William "Bill" Russell and Frederick Ramsey Jr., got in touch with Bunk Johnson and gave him a new set of teeth - through Sidney Bechet's brother, who worked as a dentist  - and a new instrument. He worked on plantations in Louisiana until 1942 , before joining Bill Russel on June 11, 1942 in New Orleans with George Lewis ( clarinet ), Jim Robinson ( trombone ), Walter Decou ( piano ), Lawrence Marrero ( banjo ), Austin Young ( bass ) and Ernest Rogers ( drums ) recorded records and made a brilliant comeback. In 1943 he played with Lu Watters ' Yerba Blues Band , gave concerts in 1945 in Boston with Sidney Bechet and then until 1947 in New York with Baby Dodds and George Lewis . He was instrumental in the revival of New Orleans Jazz and during these years he was involved in a large number of recordings in New Orleans, San Francisco , Boston, New York and Minneapolis before he retired after a first stroke in 1948 and died in 1949.

Discographic notes

(From left: Kaiser Marshall (drums), Alcide Pavageau (bass), Jim Robinson (trombone), Bunk Johnson (trumpet), Don Ewell (piano) and George Lewis (clarinet) at the Stuyvesant Casino, New York, circa June 1946.
Photograph by William P. Gottlieb .
  • Bunk Johnson in San Francisco ( American Music , 1943–44)
  • Bunk Johnson 1944 (American Music, 1944)
  • Bunk's Brass Band and dance Band 1945 (American Music, 1945)
  • Last Testament (Delmark, 1947)

literature

Web links

Commons : Bunk Johnson  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ probably December 27, 1889, cf. W. Kampmann: Reclams Jazzlexikon . Stuttgart 2003, p. 270
  2. ↑ Quoted from Kunzler, p. 591.
personal data
SURNAME Johnson, Bunk
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Johnson, William Geary
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American trumpeter
DATE OF BIRTH December 27, 1879
PLACE OF BIRTH New Orleans
DATE OF DEATH July 7, 1949
Place of death New Iberia