One of my all-time favorite musicians is James P. (for Price) Johnson (1894-1955), the so-called “Father of Stride Piano,” and the composer of many songs and some longer instrumental works. But not everyone “gets” him. Most people are much more familiar with his protégé “Fats” Waller, who was indeed a wonderful pianist, and had the advantage of also being a singer, songwriter, and a very witty comedian. Others prefer Willie “The Lion” Smith (he was listed that way in the Manhattan phone book!) who, in addition to being a fine pianist and composer, was an entertaining storyteller. And there were many others in the “stride” idiom, of course, including Duke Ellington when he was young. (It was called “stride” because of the movements of the left arm.) Yet, all of these pianists, Duke included, looked up to James P., and for good reasons.
The first theme also has a definite similarity to the first theme of Jimmy and Willie the Lion's , Gut Stomp , the second theme of which was recycled for Swingin' At the Lido
I am attempting to post this thought for something like the 3rd time. Sorry if the others also eventually pop up. Wow ! I had the pleasure of meeting the late Floyd Levin shortly before he died, and shortly after the publication of his book: Classic Jazz. I had written to him because I was curious to know what other stories he might be able share about his friendship with James P. Johnson that he had not included in the book, and was also curious if he had recorded any more of James P. in addition to what was issued on the Pumpkin LP : Ain'tcha Got Music. Floyd was kind enough to call me at home, and we talked for about an hour on these subjects. Sadly, in both cases, his answer was : " No ". Fortunately, at least as far as the recording of James P. is concerned, Floyd's answer has turned out to be incorrect. And, we did get a chance to meet, for the only time, when he was a marshal at the Sacramento Jazz fest, a few months later. These remain wonderful memories. I would also add, that I too have " discovered " a previously uncatalogued and unissued piano solo by James P, the alternate take of " If Dreams Come True " , from the 1939 John Hammond session, which had been given to me by Mike Lipskin in 1981. Bob Hilbert ( owner of Pumpkin records ) also figured in this, as he had been at work on the most complete Johnson discography, up to that time, which was included as an appendix to the first full length biography of James P., published in 1987, by Scott Brown. Ironically , the alternate was not mentioned in the discography, even though Bob Hilbert knew of it well before publication, and further, it by that time had been issued on LP. Incidentally, Dr. Brown has recently finished an updated, and completely new biography of James P. that is planned to be published by the end of the year
For those of us hard core audiophiles interested in the nitty gritty of possible remaining unissued James P. material, the best bet seems to be here: a Bob Thiele Signature session of 1944. Mosaic owned the rights, but apparently did not know to look for them, for the mega James P. set, until we discussed the topic, which, by that time would have been too late to include them in the set, even if they had managed to track them down. I discussed the subject, at some length, on FB, about 2 years ago . Here is the bottom line .
" On December 18, 1943, James P. Johnson arrived for a scheduled recording session at the New York City studio of a twenty-one-year-old record producer named Bob Thiele. The space, Signature Records, was launched by Thiele three years earlier. Johnson accompanied Yank Lawson and His Jazz Band on four sides: “Squeeze Me,” “When I Grow Too Old to Dream,” “Too Many Times,” and “The Sheik of Araby,” which were authenticated as Signature 28103. After the session, Thiele suggested that James P. stay to record a few tunes. Johnson agreed and documented three songs: “Old Fashioned Love,” “Blueberry Rhyme” and “Over the Bars (also known as “Steeplechase Rag”). However, his dear friend and protégé, Fats Waller, passed away three days prior at the age of thirty-nine and Johnson, overcome with grief, emotively extemporized a song in Waller’s honor. It was entitled, “Blues for Fats.” https://www.facebook.com/groups/115941758550793/posts/2214232695388345/
It is a pleasure to meet you as well. We mutant James P. Johnson fans gotta stick together. And, for the record, I am not a James P. Johnson expert. I am however, " Formerly, the World's Second Leading Authority on James P. Johnson " . As you may have already known, us guys don't got / need no stinkin; badges. But, I do have an official bidness card. .....
I whole heartedly agree with Lewis' observation that James P. can be an acquired taste, and that not everyone " gets " him; at least certainly not right away. This was in fact my experience. Coming from a ragtime background ( a "Sting Baby " as it were ) , and influenced by Rudi Blesh to seek out the master. However, this was the late 1970s, and the first example of Jimmy's playing I heard was on the only dedicated album of his piano solos available at the time, which was on Folkways. I did not find those performances particularly inspiring; at least not then. Around the same time I managed to locate the 2 performances by Dick Hyman ( " Keep Off the Grass " and " Harlem Strut " ) on an old Project 3 LP, and then " Caprice Rag " and " Daintiness Rag " by James on the Herwin LP compilation called Piano Ragtime of the 40s. At that point, my consciousness was transformed. This was a different kind of ragtime than Scott Joplin. Fuller harmonies, and, most importantly, they swung. Truly a revelation. Now I was hooked on James P. and stride piano. Still am after 40 plus years. His playing and that of Fats just get better by the day.
There is a forthcoming biography of James, P., written by the man, Dr. Scott Brown, who penned the original bio of James P. The current title, is James P. Johnson: The Quiet Man Who Made the 20s Roar. To be published by the University of Mississippi Press. So, now, it is quite true that Dr. Brown has written both the first and the last word on James P. Johnson played on over 400 sides in his career. Nearly everything he ever recorded, is now on Youtube, and can be found, here, created as a companion site to the book. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZf9qaiGmhk&list=PLQuhDgfsUyRu18P9ZlQmcOekmjCKqq5uF
Did Johnson record much in the way of commercially available records that might be available on CD?
"incidentally this is what I was playing when I first met my wife" I think...
Tell Steven Lasker I said hey, he was my neighbor in Venice for a few years.
Tell Steven Lasker I said hey, he was my neighbor in Venice for a few years.
say hey to Lasker, my next door neighbor in Venice for a few years.
it was a delight to hear great jazz music blasting from his place.
Great post, Lewis!
The first theme also has a definite similarity to the first theme of Jimmy and Willie the Lion's , Gut Stomp , the second theme of which was recycled for Swingin' At the Lido
I am attempting to post this thought for something like the 3rd time. Sorry if the others also eventually pop up. Wow ! I had the pleasure of meeting the late Floyd Levin shortly before he died, and shortly after the publication of his book: Classic Jazz. I had written to him because I was curious to know what other stories he might be able share about his friendship with James P. Johnson that he had not included in the book, and was also curious if he had recorded any more of James P. in addition to what was issued on the Pumpkin LP : Ain'tcha Got Music. Floyd was kind enough to call me at home, and we talked for about an hour on these subjects. Sadly, in both cases, his answer was : " No ". Fortunately, at least as far as the recording of James P. is concerned, Floyd's answer has turned out to be incorrect. And, we did get a chance to meet, for the only time, when he was a marshal at the Sacramento Jazz fest, a few months later. These remain wonderful memories. I would also add, that I too have " discovered " a previously uncatalogued and unissued piano solo by James P, the alternate take of " If Dreams Come True " , from the 1939 John Hammond session, which had been given to me by Mike Lipskin in 1981. Bob Hilbert ( owner of Pumpkin records ) also figured in this, as he had been at work on the most complete Johnson discography, up to that time, which was included as an appendix to the first full length biography of James P., published in 1987, by Scott Brown. Ironically , the alternate was not mentioned in the discography, even though Bob Hilbert knew of it well before publication, and further, it by that time had been issued on LP. Incidentally, Dr. Brown has recently finished an updated, and completely new biography of James P. that is planned to be published by the end of the year
For those of us hard core audiophiles interested in the nitty gritty of possible remaining unissued James P. material, the best bet seems to be here: a Bob Thiele Signature session of 1944. Mosaic owned the rights, but apparently did not know to look for them, for the mega James P. set, until we discussed the topic, which, by that time would have been too late to include them in the set, even if they had managed to track them down. I discussed the subject, at some length, on FB, about 2 years ago . Here is the bottom line .
" On December 18, 1943, James P. Johnson arrived for a scheduled recording session at the New York City studio of a twenty-one-year-old record producer named Bob Thiele. The space, Signature Records, was launched by Thiele three years earlier. Johnson accompanied Yank Lawson and His Jazz Band on four sides: “Squeeze Me,” “When I Grow Too Old to Dream,” “Too Many Times,” and “The Sheik of Araby,” which were authenticated as Signature 28103. After the session, Thiele suggested that James P. stay to record a few tunes. Johnson agreed and documented three songs: “Old Fashioned Love,” “Blueberry Rhyme” and “Over the Bars (also known as “Steeplechase Rag”). However, his dear friend and protégé, Fats Waller, passed away three days prior at the age of thirty-nine and Johnson, overcome with grief, emotively extemporized a song in Waller’s honor. It was entitled, “Blues for Fats.” https://www.facebook.com/groups/115941758550793/posts/2214232695388345/
We discussed the Pumpkin LP on the Fats / James P. group FB in 2016 https://www.facebook.com/groups/115941758550793/posts/883101908501437
It is a pleasure to meet you as well. We mutant James P. Johnson fans gotta stick together. And, for the record, I am not a James P. Johnson expert. I am however, " Formerly, the World's Second Leading Authority on James P. Johnson " . As you may have already known, us guys don't got / need no stinkin; badges. But, I do have an official bidness card. .....
Do mention it !
I whole heartedly agree with Lewis' observation that James P. can be an acquired taste, and that not everyone " gets " him; at least certainly not right away. This was in fact my experience. Coming from a ragtime background ( a "Sting Baby " as it were ) , and influenced by Rudi Blesh to seek out the master. However, this was the late 1970s, and the first example of Jimmy's playing I heard was on the only dedicated album of his piano solos available at the time, which was on Folkways. I did not find those performances particularly inspiring; at least not then. Around the same time I managed to locate the 2 performances by Dick Hyman ( " Keep Off the Grass " and " Harlem Strut " ) on an old Project 3 LP, and then " Caprice Rag " and " Daintiness Rag " by James on the Herwin LP compilation called Piano Ragtime of the 40s. At that point, my consciousness was transformed. This was a different kind of ragtime than Scott Joplin. Fuller harmonies, and, most importantly, they swung. Truly a revelation. Now I was hooked on James P. and stride piano. Still am after 40 plus years. His playing and that of Fats just get better by the day.
There is a forthcoming biography of James, P., written by the man, Dr. Scott Brown, who penned the original bio of James P. The current title, is James P. Johnson: The Quiet Man Who Made the 20s Roar. To be published by the University of Mississippi Press. So, now, it is quite true that Dr. Brown has written both the first and the last word on James P. Johnson played on over 400 sides in his career. Nearly everything he ever recorded, is now on Youtube, and can be found, here, created as a companion site to the book. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZf9qaiGmhk&list=PLQuhDgfsUyRu18P9ZlQmcOekmjCKqq5uF
A companion Facebook page to the Time Life collection, with the track notes and biographical essay , with links to the recordings on You Tube, can be found, here. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100067862862940&comment_id=Y29tbWVudDoxMDgxMzAwNzgxMTIyMDhfMTA4MjQ1MTM4MTAwNzAy
The link is near the top of the page, on the far right, immediately below circles of members pictures https://www.facebook.com/groups/115941758550793/files/files