Budd Johnson

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American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist (1910–1984)

title: "Budd Johnson" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1910-births", "1984-deaths", "swing-clarinetists", "american-jazz-saxophonists", "american-male-saxophonists", "american-jazz-clarinetists", "musicians-from-dallas", "riverside-records-artists", "20th-century-american-saxophonists", "jazz-musicians-from-texas", "20th-century-american-male-musicians", "american-male-jazz-musicians", "new-york-jazz-repertory-company-members", "black-&-blue-records-artists", "argo-records-artists"] description: "American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist (1910–1984)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budd_Johnson" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist (1910–1984) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]

FieldValue
nameBudd Johnson
imageBudd_Johnson_portrait.jpg
image_size
birth_nameAlbert J. Johnson III
birth_date
birth_placeDallas, Texas, U.S.
death_date
death_placeKansas City, Missouri, U.S.
instrumentTenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet
genreJazz
occupationMusician
years_active1920s–1970s
labelAtlantic
past_member_ofEarl Hines, Ben Webster, Benny Goodman, Big Joe Turner, Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Quincy Jones, Count Basie, Billie Holiday
::

| name = Budd Johnson | image = Budd_Johnson_portrait.jpg | caption = | image_size = | birth_name = Albert J. Johnson III | alias = | birth_date = | birth_place = Dallas, Texas, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. | instrument = Tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet | genre = Jazz | occupation = Musician | years_active = 1920s–1970s | label = Atlantic | past_member_of = Earl Hines, Ben Webster, Benny Goodman, Big Joe Turner, Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Quincy Jones, Count Basie, Billie Holiday | website =

Albert J. "Budd" Johnson III (December 14, 1910 – October 20, 1984) was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist who worked extensively with, among others, Ben Webster, Benny Goodman, Big Joe Turner, Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Quincy Jones, Count Basie, Billie Holiday and, especially, Earl Hines.

Life and career

Johnson initially played drums and piano before switching to tenor saxophone. In the 1920s, he performed in Texas and parts of the Midwest, working with Jesse Stone among others. Johnson had his recording debut while working with Louis Armstrong's band in 1932 to 1933, but he is more known for his work, over many years, with Earl Hines. It is contended that he and Billy Eckstine, Hines' long-term collaborator, led Hines to hire "modernists" in the birth of bebop, which came largely out of the Hines band. Johnson was also an early figure in the bebop era, doing sessions with Coleman Hawkins in 1944. Johnson was a key figure in the first bebop group on 52nd Street in NYC, which played at the Onyx Club (1944) and featured Johnson, Dizzy Gillespie, George Wallington (pn), Oscar Pettiford (bs) and Max Roach (drs). Johnson urged Gillespie to write out his melodic ideas for 2 horns (trumpet and saxophone) to play in unison, a sound which became the signature style of small-group bebop. In the 1950s he led his own group, and did session work for Atlantic Records – he is the featured tenor saxophone soloist on Ruth Brown's hit "Teardrops from My Eyes". In the mid-1960s, he began working and recording again with Hines. His association with Hines is his longest lasting and most significant. In 1975, he began working with the New York Jazz Repertory Orchestra. He was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1993. His grandson, Albert Johnson (aka Prodigy), was a member of the hip-hop duo Mobb Deep.{{cite book | first=Charlie | last=Gillett | author-link=Charlie Gillett | year= 1996 | title= The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll | edition= 2nd | publisher= Da Capo Press | location=New York, N.Y. | isbn= 0-306-80683-5 | page= 130}}

He died of a heart attack in Kansas City at the age of 73.

Discography

As leader/coleader

As sideman

With Cannonball Adderley

As arranger

With Jimmy Witherspoon

References

References

  1. (2013). "Blues - A Regional Experience". Praeger Publishers.
  2. "Budd Johnson | Biography & History".
  3. John S. Wilson. (October 23, 1984). "Budd Johnson, 73; A Jazz saxophonist from Swing to Bop". [[The New York Times]].
  4. (1992). "[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music". [[Guinness Publishing]].
  5. Wilson, John S.. (23 October 1984). "BUDD JOHNSON, 73; A JAZZ SAXOPHONIST FROM SWING TO BOP".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

1910-births1984-deathsswing-clarinetistsamerican-jazz-saxophonistsamerican-male-saxophonistsamerican-jazz-clarinetistsmusicians-from-dallasriverside-records-artists20th-century-american-saxophonistsjazz-musicians-from-texas20th-century-american-male-musiciansamerican-male-jazz-musiciansnew-york-jazz-repertory-company-membersblack-&-blue-records-artistsargo-records-artists