Eddie Johnson (musician)

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Edwin "Eddie" Johnson (born December 11, 1920 in Napoleonville , Louisiana ; † April 7, 2010 ) was a tenor saxophonist in the field of jazz , rhythm and blues and blues , who was mainly active in the music scene of Chicago .

Live and act

Eddie Johnson is considered a legend of Chicago's Southside. Under the influence of Lester Young , he began as a jazz musician in the swing era; after graduation from Englewood High School, he attended Wilson Junior College to then study at Kentucky State College, where he played in a student band. He had his first engagements in Chicago's Swingland in 1939/40 with the Johnny Long Orchestra, in which Budd Johnson , Preston Jackson and Kansas Fields also played. He then accompanied the singer Joe Williams in the Johnny Long Sextet and briefly played in the Octet of Coleman Hawkins . In 1942/43 he was a member of the Milt Larkin Orchestra, which performed in the Rhumboogie Café .

In 1944 he played in the Carroll Dickerson Band; In 1946 he became known in the orchestra of Cootie Williams and participated in its recordings for Capitol and Majestic Records . He then went to Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five ("Barnyard Boogie") and worked a. a. as accompanist for Ella Fitzgerald . In the 1950s he also took part in the recordings of Leo Parker , Eddie South and the Duke Ellington Orchestra in Chicago . In October 1951 he released the single "Walk Softly" on Chess Records , followed by "Twin Rock" (1952). Recordings with Johnny Pate were made in 1957 . To support his family, he left the music business in the late 1950s to work as an engineer for the city of Chicago; in the 1970s he was in charge of the city's computer system. After he retired, he returned to regular jazz clubs in the city like Andy’s in the 1980s . In 1981 ( Indian Summer ) and 1999 ( Love You Madly ) two albums were released under his own name for the label Nessa and Delmark Records . He was also involved in the recordings of Philippe LeJeune , Kurt Elling and Jodie Christian in the 1990s .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c discography ( memento of July 24, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ a b Jazzology
  3. ^ Obituary in the Examiner 2010
personal data
SURNAME Johnson, Eddie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Johnson, Edward
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American musician
DATE OF BIRTH December 11, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Napoleonville (Louisiana)
DATE OF DEATH April 7, 2010
Place of death Chicago