''J.J. Inc.'' is an
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
by jazz trombonist
J. J. Johnson, released in 1961.
Reception
Trombonist
Steve Turre
Stephen Johnson Turre (born September 12, 1948, in Omaha, Nebraska) is an American jazz trombonist and a pioneer of using Conch (instrument), seashells as instruments, a composer, arranger, and educator at the collegiate-conservatory level. For ...
said of the album, "''J.J. Inc.'' finds the master in a sextet setting, with an incredible line-up of young talent." He further states, "You can hear more blues in J.J.'s solos than in his younger bandmates, and that depth of feeling is always apparent in whatever he plays, whenever he plays. J.J. said that this was one of the best groups he ever put together, and he enjoyed playing with them very much."
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
's
Scott Yanow
Scott Yanow (born 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.
Life and career
Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles.
Beginning in 1974, Yanow was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles and was the jazz e ...
rated the album four and a half stars and described it as "a fine straight ahead set".
''
The Penguin Guide to Jazz
''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled b ...
'' rated the album three and a half out of four stars, stating that "Aquarius is the best evidence yet of J.J.'s great skills as a composer-arranger."
[Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2002). ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD'' (6th Ed.) Penguin Books. ]
Track listing
All compositions by Johnson except where noted.
# "Mohawk" – 9:22
# "Minor Mist" - 5:08
# "In Walked Horace" - 5:11
# "Fatback" - 6:35
# "Aquarius" - 5:56
# "Shutterbug" - 7:25
# "
Blue and Boogie" (
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...
,
Frank Paparelli
Frank Paparelli (* December 25, 1917 in Providence, Rhode Island; † May 24, 1973 in Los Angeles, California) was an American Jazz pianist, Composer and Author. He was a pianist in Dizzy Gillespie's band during the mid-1940s, and is notable as th ...
) - 5:51 (CD bonus track)
# "Turnpike" - 13:06 (CD bonus track)
# "Fatback" - 11:42 (CD bonus track)
Personnel
*
J. J. Johnson – trombone
*
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...
– trumpet
*
Clifford Jordan
Clifford Laconia Jordan (September 2, 1931 – March 27, 1993) was an American jazz tenor saxophone player and composer. Originally from Chicago, Jordan later moved to New York City, where he recorded extensively in addition to touring across ...
– tenor saxophone
*
Cedar Walton
Cedar Anthony Walton Jr. (January 17, 1934 – August 19, 2013) was an American hard bop jazz pianist. He came to prominence as a member of drummer Art Blakey's band, The Jazz Messengers, before establishing a long career as a bandleader and c ...
– piano
*
Arthur Harper – double bass
*
Albert Heath
Albert "Tootie" Heath (May 31, 1935 – April 3, 2024) was an American jazz hard bop drummer, the brother of tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath and the double-bassist Percy Heath. With Stanley Cowell, the Heaths formed the Heath Brothers jazz b ...
– drums
See also
*
J. J. Johnson discography
References
{{Authority control
J. J. Johnson albums
1961 albums
Columbia Records albums
Albums produced by Teo Macero