The music of early Jazz piano player James P. Johnson, the creator of Harlem Stride Piano, is explored in this award-winning production. Actor Peter Coyote reads from Johnson’s recollections and Mark Borowsky expertly traces his career, sharing insights gleaned from a lifetime studying this overlooked American genius.
Play: JAMES P JOHNSON_A Introduction with Peter Coyote, narrator and “Drums”
James Price Johnson (1894-1955) should be hailed as one of the greatest composers, jazz musicians and songwriters of American music. Yet despite vast achievements, he remains largely unknown to general audiences.
Johnson was the foremost proponent of Harlem Stride piano and an absolute master of the keyboard with perfect pitch. Laying the cornerstone of jazz piano before 1920, his Stride keyboard style transformed Ragtime into Jazz, strongly influencing pianists Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Art Tatum, and Thelonious Monk. His protege Fats Waller recalled learning more in his first afternoon with James than the previous 10 years.
Johnson’s list of collaborators is a who’s who of eraly Jazz and Blues: Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters, King Oliver, Sidney Bechet, Eddie Condon. He was in great demand throughout the 1920s, ‘30s and ‘40s for
