Gus Johnson (jazz musician)

Gus Johnson (November 15, 1913 – February 6, 2000) was an American swing drummer in various jazz bands, born in Tyler, Texas. After learning to play drums from his next-door neighbor, Johnson occasionally played professionally at the age of ten in the Lincoln Theater, and performed in various local groups, most notable McDavid's Blue Rhythm Band. Upon graduating from Booker T. Washington High School, Johnson moved to Kansas City, where he took up drumming full-time. He joined Jay McShann's Orchestra in 1938, with his music career being interrupted by his conscription into the military in 1943.^[1]

In 1945, Johnson returned from his stint in the military, and relocated to Chicago to perform in the Jesse Miller Band. He subsequently played alongside Count Basie and was recorded on the album Basie Rides Again in 1952. Following a recovery from appendicitis Johnson was featured in numerous groups and dozens of recordings in the 1960s. In 1972, his former bandmates from Jay McShann's Orchestra reconvened to record Going to Kansas City. Although Johnson continued to tour into the 1980s, he developed Alzeheimer's disease in 1989, which he struggled with until his death on February 6, 2000.^[2]

Discography

With Manny Albam

• The Drum Suite (RCA Victor, 1956) with Ernie Wilkins
• Jazz Goes to the Movies (Impulse!, 1962)

With Count Basie

• The Count! (Clef, 1952 [1955])
• Basie Jazz (Clef, 1952 [1954])
• Dance Session (Clef, 1953)
• Dance Session Album #2 (Clef, 1954)
• Basie (Clef, 1954)
• The Count Basie Story (Roulette, 1960)
• Get Together (Pablo, 1979)

With Lawrence Brown

• Inspired Abandon (Impulse!, 1965)

With Buck Clayton

• Jam Session (Chiaroscuro, 1974)

With Willie Dixon and Memphis Slim

• Willie's Blues (Bluesville, 1959)

With Coleman Hawkins

• Night Hawk (Swingville, 1960)

With Willis Jackson

• Really Groovin' (Prestige, 1961)
• In My Solitude (Moodsville, 1961)

With Herbie Mann

• Salute to the Flute (Epic, 1957)

With Gerry Mulligan

• The Gerry Mulligan Quartet (Verve, 1962)
• Spring Is Sprung (Philips, 1962)
• Gerry Mulligan '63 (Verve, 1963)

With Joe Newman

• Salute to Satch (RCA Victor, 1956)

With Chico O'Farrill

• Nine Flags (Impulse!, 1966)

With Oscar Pettiford

• The Oscar Pettiford Orchestra in Hi-Fi Volume Two (ABC-Paramount, 1957)

With Zoot Sims

• The Modern Art of Jazz by Zoot Sims (Dawn, 1956)
• Tonite's Music Today (Storyvile, 1956) with Bob Brookmeyer

With Ralph Sutton and Ruby Braff

• R & R (Chiaroscuro, 1979)
• Remembered (DVD) (Arbors Records, 2004)

With Ralph Sutton and Jay McShann

• The Last of the Whorehouse Piano Players (Chiaroscuro, 1979)
• The Last of the Whorehouse Piano Players (Chiaroscuro, 1989)

With Ralph Sutton and Kenny Davern

• Ralph Sutton and Kenny Davern (Chiaroscuro)

With Kai Winding

• The Swingin' States (Columbia, 1958)
• Solo (Verve, 1963)

References