John Newton "Johnny" Helms (February 10, 1935 – March 27, 2015) was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, and music educator from

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

. He performed with Chris Potter, Tommy Newsom,

Bill Watrous William Russell Watrous III (June 8, 1939 – July 2, 2018) was an American jazz trombonist. He is perhaps best known for his rendition of Sammy Nestico's arrangement of the Johnny Mandel ballad "A Time for Love", which he recorded on a 1993 alb ...

Red Rodney Robert Roland Chudnick (September 27, 1927 – May 27, 1994), known professionally as Red Rodney, was an American jazz trumpeter. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he became a professional musician at 15, working in the mid-1940 ...

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roo ...

, Sam Most, and the

Clark Terry Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American Swing music, swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator. He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948� ...

Big Band among others. In 1989, he was featured along with Terry and

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. As a virtuoso who is considered to be one of the greatest Jazz piano, jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordin ...

as part of ''Clark Terry and Friends at

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

'' during the JVC Jazz Festival.

Influences and early career

Helms displayed a talent for music at a young age and was invited to perform with the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

Band while in the ninth grade at

Columbia High School Columbia High School may refer to: *Columbia High School (Huntsville, Alabama) *Columbia High School (Georgia) *Columbia High School (Florida) *Columbia High School (Idaho) *Columbia High School (Illinois) *Columbia High School (Mississippi), a Mis ...

. An early stylistic influence was trumpeter

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

, but as his style matured, Helms became a devotee of the great jazz trumpet player

Clifford Brown Clifford Benjamin Brown (October 30, 1930 – June 26, 1956) was an American jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer. He died at the age of 25 in a car crash, leaving behind four years' worth of recordings. His compositions "Sandu", "Joy Sprin ...

and easily mastered the

hard bop Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospe ...

style and phrasing that was part of Brown's legacy. Helms was an avid supporter of jazz saxophonist Chris Potter who had the opportunity to learn his craft while performing with Helms.

Higher education

Helms earned his Bachelor of Music degree in 1973 from the

and taught music in the public schools for many years.

Jazz festival organizer

Helms was a founding organizer in 1986 (with Veron Melonas), and musical director of the Main Street Jazz Festival in

. Beginning with the summer of 1987, The Jazz Foundation, Inc., a South Carolina non-profit organization founded in 1987, of which Helms was the registered agent, became one of the sponsors of the festival. The foundation's mission was to promote the city of Columbia and to celebrate a uniquely American art form. Other sponsors included the Columbia Action Council (a South Carolina non-profit organization) and The Elite Epicurean Restaurant of Columbia, then owned by Veron S. Melonas (1933–2001). In 1989, the festival featured Tommy Newsom,

Urbie Green Urban Clifford "Urbie" Green (August 8, 1926 – December 31, 2018) was an American jazz trombonist who toured with Woody Herman, Gene Krupa, Jan Savitt, and Frankie Carle. He played on over 250 recordings and released more than twenty albums a ...

Jimmy Heath James Edward Heath (October 25, 1926 – January 19, 2020), nicknamed Little Bird, was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader. He was the brother of bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert Heath. Biography Heath w ...

, Chris Potter,

Bill Crow William Orval Crow (born December 27, 1927) is an American jazz bassist. Among other work, Crow was the long-term bassist in saxophonist Gerry Mulligan's bands in the 1950s and 1960s. Early life Crow was born on December 27, 1927, in Othello, ...

, Andy Simpkins, Harold Jones, Ed Soph, Johnny Frigo, Bucky Pizzarelli,

John Pizzarelli John Paul Pizzarelli Jr. (born April 6, 1960) is an American jazz guitarist and vocalist. He has recorded over twenty solo albums and has appeared on more than forty albums by other recording artists, including Paul McCartney, James Taylor, Ros ...

Ross Tompkins Ross Tompkins (May 13, 1938 – June 30, 2006) was an American jazz pianist who was a member of ''The Tonight Show'' Band. Biography Tompkins attended the New England Conservatory of Music, then moved to New York City, where he worked with Kai ...

, and Derek Smith, among others. Video highlights of the performances were produced by

South Carolina Educational Television South Carolina Educational Television (branded South Carolina ETV, SCETV or simply ETV) is a state network of PBS member television stations serving the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is operated by the South Carolina Educational Television C ...

Spoleto Festival USA

Johnny Helms was a featured soloist at the 1977 (summer) Spoleto Festival USA,

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

with the One O'Clock Lab Band,

Phil Woods Philip Wells Woods (November 2, 1931 – September 29, 2015) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer. Biography Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. After inheriting a saxophone at age 12, he began t ...

Louie Bellson Louie Bellson (born Luigi Paolino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni, July 6, 1924 – February 14, 2009), often seen in sources as Louis Bellson, although he himself preferred the spelling Louie, was an American jazz drummer. He was a composer ...

, and

. The event marked the first time that the Spoleto festival had been held in the Americas. Since its 1958 founding in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Gian Carlo Menotti Gian Carlo Menotti (, ; July 7, 1911 – February 1, 2007) was an Italian-American composer, libretto, librettist, director, and playwright who is primarily known for his output of 25 operas. Although he often referred to himself as an American ...

, jazz had never been performed at a Spoleto event. Since its US spinoff debut in 1977 — Spoleto USA — jazz has held an integral role in what has become the largest performing arts festival in the Americas, dwarfing its

Old World The "Old World" () is a term for Afro-Eurasia coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere, previously ...

parent. A recording of the performance was broadcast March 25, 1978, and September 28, 1978, on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

program, ''Jazz Alive.'' The NPR Broadcasts were part of a jazz series produced by Nation Public Broadcasting called ''Jazz Alive.''

Selected discography

* ''Perdido: The Columbia Museum of Art'' : Recorded in

, April 28, 1974 (private recording) : Helms, trumpet,

, trumpet, Bucky Pizzarelli, guitar * ''Jazz at Spoleto '77'', Left Bank Jazz Society of Charleston LBJSoC LS2692 (1978); , : Live, Spoleto Festival USA, Charleston,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, May 18, 1977 :

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

One O'Clock Lab Band, Leon Breeden, director : Featuring

(trombone, track 2),

(soprano sax, track 3),

(drums, track 4), Helms (trumpet, track 8 "Joy Spring," by

) * ''The Columbia Jazz Trio Plus Two'' : 1987 SCETV production : Helms, trumpet,

Terry Rosen Terry Rosen (September 26, 1939 – December 30, 1999) was an American jazz guitarist, concert promoter, and radio DJ. Early career Terry Rosen was born in Atlanta, Georgia but moved with his parents to Columbia, South Carolina at the age of thre ...

, guitar, Chris Potter, alto sax, Frank Duvall, bass, Ted Linder Drums * ''The Columbia Jazz Quintet Live at Pug's'' : 1988 by Dig This Productions : Helms, trumpet,

, guitar, Chris Potter, alto sax, Frank Duvall, bass, Ted Linder, drums : Initially recorded for broadcast on SCETV Radio; released on cassette and later CD by the group's leader, Terry Rosen

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helms, Johnny Hard bop trumpeters Post-bop trumpeters American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters Swing trumpeters 1935 births 2015 deaths Musicians from South Carolina University of South Carolina alumni American male jazz musicians