LEM JOHNSON

Lemuel Charles Johnson conocido como LEM JOHNSON , nació el 6 de agosto de 1909, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, EE.UU., d. 01 de abril 1989,Nueva York, EE.UU.. Ya estando en la escuela, Johnson comenzó a tocar el clarinete y trabajó con bandas locales. En su adolescencia, añadió el saxo tenor a sus habilidades instrumentales y jugó con los Blue Devils de Walter Page , luego con Sammy Price. Después de tocar  con varias otras bandas en el territorio del Medio Oeste tocó  con Earl "Fatha" Hines y luego se trasladó a Nueva York. Allí tocó  en bandas lideradas por Fess Williams, Louis Jordan y otros, de vez en cuando llevó a sus propios grupos pequeños, y en la década de los 40 estuvo con Buster Harding, Edgar Hayes, Sidney Bechet y otros. Durante 1942/3 que con frecuencia toca  con Claude Hopkins a tiempo parcial mientras trabajaba en las fábricas de la industria de defensa. A finales de los años 40 ya través de los años 50  condujo a sus propias bandas en las sesiones de grabación , y de vez en cuando de gira en el extranjero, con varios líderes incluyendo Page  'Hot Lips' Oran. Poco a poco, la carrera musical de Johnson fué derivando más sin plena dedicación  a pesar de que continuó realizándose en los años 60. Un músico relajado y sutil, sobre todo en el tenor, la carrera de Johnson a veces parecía carecer de concreción y finalidad . Escuchando su obra grabada, esto debe ser visto como una pérdida para el jazz.

LEM JOHNSON aparece en este compilatorio de la colección SAGABLUES- NEW YORK CITY BLUES- THE BIG APPLE BLUE SCENE -1951-1954 , una selección de Gérard Herzhaft , con el tema que podéis oír más abajo EATIN' N SLEEPIN ' WITH THE BLUES 

Artist Biography by Eugene Chadbourne in allmusic 

That this saxophonist was one of the earliest rhythm and blues honkers is hardly in dispute, but how early his sounds first started getting captured by recording microphones is another matter. Various biographical information and reviews relating to a collection of his material on the Blue Moon label indicates that it was the goofball bandleader Louis Jordan who first began documenting Lem Johnson during sessions for the Decca label in the late '30s. He may be on some earlier recording sessions with Sidney Bechet, however, although in that case, his potential to honk is vastly overwhelmed by the leader's ability to make his soprano saxophone sound like a lovesick blue jay. At any rate, tenor sax solos such as the one Johnson plays on Jordan's "Flatface" have lost none of their majesty over the years.

Johnson didn't stay put with Jordan, however, joining a group led by Skeets Tolbert in 1939. This leader recognized the reedman's potential as a vocalist and managed to get that aspect of his talents on recording for the first time. Eddie Durham also featured Johnson as a vocalist on a single recording. Johnson soon had his own opportunity to record as a leader, with material that was collected on the aforementioned CD along with other recordings the saxophonist and singer made with leaders such as Sammy Price. Of the solo material, the most famous recording is Johnson's version of "Going Down Slow" by St. Louis Jimmy. This 1941 recording is the earliest version known of what developed into a blues warhorse, a perfect send-off for anyone not expected to recover. Johnson also recorded in the early '50s with fellow tenor blaster Sam "The Man" Taylor.