Influence
Johnson's work in the 1940s and 1950s demonstrated that the slide trombone could be played in the bebop style. Contemporary trombonist Steve Turre has summarized, "J. J. did for the trombone what Charlie Parker did for the saxophone. And all of us that are playing today wouldn't be playing the way we're playing if it wasn't for what he did. And not only, of course, is he the master of the trombone — the definitive master of this century — but, as a composer and arranger, he is in the top shelf as well."
The two-trombone jazz combo setup pioneered by Johnson and Winding has been imitated by more recent trombonists, with such combinations as Jim Pugh/Dave Taylor, Conrad Herwig/Steve Davis, and Michael Davis/Bill Reichenbach.
Several of his compositions, including "Wee Dot", "Lament", and "Enigma" have become jazz standards.
From the mid-1950s on, Johnson was a perennial polling favorite in jazz circles, even winning "Trombonist of the Year" in Down Beat magazine during years he wasn't active. In 1970 he ceased performing in public before making a comeback in the late 1980s. He was voted into the Down Beat Hall of Fame in 1995.
Read more about this topic: J. J. Johnson
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