Standards: Live at the Village Vanguard [Live]

J. J. Johnson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 24, 1991)
• Original Release Date: September 24, 1991
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Polygram Records
• ASIN: B0000046JK
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,212 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Standards: Live at the Village, July 22, 2001

By 

JIMWILLOUGHBY (Milledgeville, Georgia United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Standards: Live at the Village Vanguard (Audio CD)

This is Vol. 2 of a 2 part series recorded at the Village Vanguard in 1988. I love live performances. They often add an emotional excitement that compliments the spontaneity and extemporaneous of the art form itself. The bad news is that many time recordings of live sessions suffer appreciable loss of sound quality. The recording quality of this session is quite good. Every player in group is heard properly and in good balance. I love Rufus Reid's playing. Thad Jones once said he like a bass player who plays bass notes, not cello notes. I do too and Rufus Reid is a master. One the opener See See Rider, his playing reminds me of Charlie Mingus. The group treatment of this tune has a sort of Minus-like feel to it also.

I like good swing. I particularly enjoyed the renditions of Just Friends and What is This Thing Called Love. I listened to them over and over. Just Friends, written by John Klenner in 1931, has become a much loved and recorded song by many fine jazz players. The harmonic changes to this tune are fun to play and good for open blowing. JJ takes full advantage.

Ralph Moore has long one of my favorite tenor players. His improvisational skills and strong sense of swing are always a joy to hear and are clearly exemplified on "Friends", "What Is this Thing Called" and the other up tempo standards.

The Intro of What is This Thing Called Love uses the ostinato or vamp made famous by Clifford Brown in his well know recording of this tune. Rocking good piano solo here. As always, this solo and all others are well supported by Reid on bass and Lewis on drums. This rhythm section's got a groove that don't move.

From the Rogers and Hart Songbook, Funny Valentine is outstanding. A gorgeous muted trombone solo from JJ, along with the obbligato, relaxed free style interaction between all the players titillates my sensitive aural palette. J J is again a pleasure to hear on Misty, written by pianist-composer Erroll Garner in 1954. Again, beautiful, sensitive playing from the rhythm section.

After food and shelter, one of my basic needs is for a good blues Misterioso satisfies this need and gratifies me plum up one side and down the other. I particularly like the "feel and style" of Moore on tenor on this tune. Man, he is a fine player. His impeccable articulation and phrasing, along with his "fat sound' knock me out. The rhythm section builds up some heat and intensity behind him and it smokes.

J J Johnson was the most outstanding trombonist and the major influence on other trombonist after the mid 1940s. His early style of playing exhibited the fastest technique imaginable for a slide trombone player. In fact, many people thought he played valve trombone when they first heard him. His later style of playing is uses more "space" and a lot of musical sequences (a melodic idea repeated beginning on different note in the chord changes.) This style is displayed in this recording.

He worked and recorded with Charlie Parker, Betty Carter, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Stan Getz, Clark Terry, Sonny Stitt, Fats Navarro, Benny Carter and others "Pretty good company" says I.

J J passed away on February 4, 2001, but his wonderful music will be with us forever.

Other of my Favorite Recordings by J J Johnson include:

® The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson, 1953 Blue Note Vol. 1

® The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson, 1954 Blue Note Vol. 2

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Satisfying Intro to J.J. Johnson, July 28, 2001

By 

james denson (Hempstead, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Standards: Live at the Village Vanguard (Audio CD)

I was fortunate enough to see J.J. Johnson live in concert 4 times from 1994-1996. For a long time, I knew something of his impressive work as a sideman, captured on the 1962 Sonny Rollins Blue Note recording which also featured Thelonious Monk. The Standards CD introduced me to J.J's work as a leader. I bought it in 1993 because Stanley Crouch, one of the great jazz writers around, wrote the liner notes which beautifully set the context for this historic Village Vanguard performance. J.J's associates, Ralph Moore, Stanley Cowell, Rufus Reid, and Victor Lewis are in all tremendous form. Johnson is in his own category as far as trombonists are concerned; and in my unabashed opinion, he is the premier trombonist in jazz history. On this CD, his renditions of Misty, My Funny Valentine and Just Friends are strinkingly original. Everything about this CD is excellent, which is best told by how seamlessly the quintet interacts. I could say much more, but there is no need. Suffice it to say that if you want a good introduction to J.J. Johnson's work, and some insight into his towering importance, you cannot go wrong with this CD.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Is it really Live !!?, November 22, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Standards: Live at the Village Vanguard (Audio CD)

If you are familiar with JJ Johnson, you won't be dissappointed with this CD. For thoses of us who cant get enough of JJ 's music (i own at least 75 of his albums/cds ) this recording was a breath of air. In fact this was the first CD i ever purchased . The music ,the setting, the artist are all outstanding, and just when you think it can't get any better, the second live CD came out. This is truly one of JJ's finest works, and since his recording sessions were so scarce thru the 80's and 90's , this is one you will have to have if you need to 'catch up' on JJ's latest works, or if you don't have any of JJ CD's this is a fine place to start