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- Active: '20s, '30s, '40s, '50s, '60s
- Genres: Jazz
- Instrument: Trombone
Biography
The firm, sure sound of this veteran trombonist has not been enough to prevent him from being confused with dozens of other musicians named Bill Johnson, some strumming banjos, some blowing horns, some sitting back and writing country & western hits. The trombonist pursued a lively career of road and studio work and is closely associated with two streams from the Great Black Music lake. One is the sparkling, driving sound of the Count Basie big band -- Johnson put in at least 15 years of service to this outfit and is present on Basie recordings from the mid-'40s as well as late '20s.Then there's the Motown sound, in which the contributions of session players in the rhythm section has been lauded but not so much the efforts of horn players whose background colors and riffs do indeed sweeten the punch. Johnson has recorded with Smokey Robinson, the Temptations, Martha & the Vandellas, and others from the soul scene. His contributions are hardly virtuoso statements along the lines of a Paul Rutherford solo trombone solo, to be sure. In the Basie band, Johnson seems to be remembered best as a straight man in certain arrangements. Johnson continues to keep blowing in his senior years in outfits such as the Bop Brothers. He is not the same Bill Johnson who plays trombone with the Dallas Jazz Orchestra. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide
