James P Johnson 1938 1942

James P. Johnson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 9, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Classics
• ASIN: B000001NNS
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,166,102 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. I've Found a New Baby

2. Everybody Loves My Baby

3. Harlem Woogie

4. Hungry Blues

5. Backwater Blues

6. He's Mine All Mine

7. After Tonight

8. If Dreams Come True

9. Fascination

10. A Flat Dream

11. The Mule Walk

12. Lonesome Reverie

13. Blueberry Rhyme

14. Memories of You

15. Old Fashioned Love

16. Swingin' at the Lido

17. Havin' a Ball

18. Hungry Blues

19. Boogie Woogie Stride

20. Impressions

See all 21 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Stride Piano, November 3, 2000

By 

B. D. Tutt (London, UK.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: James P Johnson 1938 1942 (Audio CD)

James P. Johnson was a great and influential pianist most of whose recordings were unavailable for many years. Classics is to be commended for systematically re-issuing all the recordings released under Johnson's name. This is the third out of eight in the series.

This CD shows Johnson in a variety of roles. The first two tracks feature him in a trio with Pee Wee Russell & Zutty Singleton, and as is often the case with Johnson, one feels that, freed of the tyranny of the 3 minute 78 disc, he would have stretched out more. Tracks 2 - 7 & 14 - 18, band pieces featuring Red Allen & J.C. Higginbotham, are relatively undistinguished.

Johnson's genius is demonstrated in his solo work. Tracks 8 - 13 show him at the top of his form. "When Dreams Come True" is a textbook illustration of Johnson's sophisticated, almost classical "theme and variation" approach to stride piano. He romps through a series of free yet disciplined performances, varying rhythm, dynamics & touch, all underpinned by a rock steady left hand. "Mule Walk" shows him in utter command, generating great swing and momentum without rushing the tempo. "Fascination" is a ragtime piece Johnson first recorded as a piano roll in 1917, here re-invented into a swinging three theme tour - de - force. His lyrical side is shown in "Lonesome Reverie" & "Blueberry Rhyme", both of which again show his tremendous touch to fine effect. The final track, "Snowy Morning Blues", is one of Johnson's best remembered pieces, and is given a beautiful rendition.

No lover of stride piano should think twice before buying this.