Charlie "Fess" Johnson (November 21, 1891,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

– December 13, 1959,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

) was an

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

bandleader and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

. Johnson led an ensemble called the Paradise Ten, who played at

Smalls Paradise Smalls Paradise (often called Small's Paradise and Smalls' Paradise, and not to be confused with Smalls Jazz Club), was a nightclub in Harlem, New York City. Located in the basement of 2294 Seventh Avenue at 134th Street, it opened in 1925 and ...

from 1925–1935, and recorded five times between 1925 and 1929. Though Johnson was a capable pianist, he rarely soloed on his recordings. The Paradise Ten ensemble included trumpeters

Jabbo Smith Jabbo Smith (born Cladys Smith; December 24, 1908 – January 16, 1991) was an American jazz musician, known for his virtuoso playing on the trumpet. Biography Smith was born in Pembroke, Georgia, United States. At the age of six he went into ...

, Leonard Davis, Sidney DeParis, and Thomas Morris, trombonists

Charlie Irvis Charlie Irvis (May 6, 1899 – 1939) was an American jazz trombonist, best known for performing in Duke Ellington's band. Career Irvis played with Bubber Miley in his youth and then with blues singer Lucille Hegamin and her Blue Flame Syncopato ...

and

Jimmy Harrison James Henry Harrison (October 17, 1900, Louisville, Kentucky – July 23, 1931, New York City) was an American jazz trombonist. Harrison began on trombone at age 15, playing locally in the Toledo, Ohio area. He played semi-pro baseball, but ...

, alto saxophonists

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

and

Edgar Sampson Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, rev ...

, and tenor saxophonist

Benny Waters Benjamin Waters (January 23, 1902, Brighton, Baltimore, Maryland – August 11, 1998, Columbia, Maryland) was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist. known in part for the longevity of his career. He began on organ, then switched to cl ...

. Johnson led the ensemble until 1938; following this he freelanced in various ensembles until he retired owing to health problems in the 1950s.

References

;Footnotes ;General references * 1891 births 1959 deaths American jazz pianists American male pianists American jazz bandleaders Musicians from Philadelphia 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians {{US-jazz-pianist-stub