Charlie Johnson (bandleader)

Charlie " Fess " Johnson (actually Charles Wright Johnson, born November 21, 1891 in Philadelphia, † December 13, 1959 in New York City ) was an American jazz pianist and band leader.

Johnson ran from 1925 to 1935 an ensemble called The Paradise Ten, who played in the Harlem Small's Paradise and recorded between 1925 and 1929 14 tracks on records, including the singer Monette Moore. Although Johnson was a proficient pianist, he rarely played solos on his recordings. The The Paradise Ten ensemble includes some important musicians of their time, such as the trumpeter Jabbo Smith, Leonard Davis, Sidney De Paris and Thomas Morris, trombonists Charlie Irvis and Jimmy Harrison, the alto saxophonist Benny Carter and Edgar Sampson and tenor saxophonist Benny Waters who also acted as arranger; also included Gus Aiken ( 1928-30 ), Herman Autrey (1933 /34), bassist Billy Taylor (1927 /29), Frankie Newton ( 1933-35 ) and Dicky Wells Johnson on lineup. Johnson directed the ensemble until 1938; after that he worked as a freelance musician in various formations and retired in the 1950s for health reasons from the music scene back.

The authors Rex Harris and Brian Rust include in her book Recorded Jazz: A Critical Guide Charlie Johnson's recordings to the best shots of Harlem jazz in the late 1920s.

Disco Graphical Notes

• The Complete Charlie Johnson Sessions ( Hot'n'Sweet, 1925-29 )

Swell

• Rex Harris & Brian Rust: Recorded Jazz: A Critical Guide. London, Penguin Books, 1958