''J.J. Inc.'' is an
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by jazz trombonist
J. J. Johnson
J.J. Johnson (January 22, 1924 – February 4, 2001), born James Louis Johnson and also known as Jay Jay Johnson, was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger.
Johnson was one of the earliest trombonists to embrace bebop.
Biograph ...
, 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 seashells as instruments, a composer, arranger, and educator at the collegiate-conservatory level. For years, Turre has b ...
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 music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...
's
Scott Yanow
Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author. Allmusic Biography/ref>
Biography
Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles.
Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles a ...
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 ...
'' 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,
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 ...
) - 5:51 (CD bonus track)
# "Turnpike" - 13:06 (CD bonus track)
# "Fatback" - 11:42 (CD bonus track)
Personnel
*
J. J. Johnson
J.J. Johnson (January 22, 1924 – February 4, 2001), born James Louis Johnson and also known as Jay Jay Johnson, was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger.
Johnson was one of the earliest trombonists to embrace bebop.
Biograph ...
– 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 f ...
– trumpet
*
Clifford Jordan
Clifford Laconia Jordan (September 2, 1931 – March 27, 1993) was an American jazz tenor saxophone player. While in Chicago, he performed with Max Roach, Sonny Stitt, and some rhythm and blues groups. He moved to New York City in 1957, after ...
– 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 ...
– piano
*
Arthur Harper – double bass
*
Albert Heath
Albert "Tootie" Heath (born May 31, 1935) is an American jazz hard bop drummer, the brother of tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath and the double-bassist Percy Heath.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, he first recorded in 1957 with ...
– drums
See also
*
J. J. Johnson discography This is a discography of the Jazz trombonist J. J. Johnson (January 22, 1924 – February 4, 2001).
As leader/co-leader
* 1949: '' J. J. Johnson's Jazz Quintets'' (Savoy, 1950s) P– J. J. Johnson Savoy singles and EPs from 1946–49
*1949: ''Mo ...
References
{{Authority control
J. J. Johnson albums
1961 albums
Columbia Records albums
Albums produced by Teo Macero