John Newton "Johnny" Helms (February 10, 1935 – March 27, 2015) was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, and music educator from

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-largest ...

. He performed with Chris Potter,

Tommy Newsom Thomas Penn Newsom (February 25, 1929 – April 28, 2007) was a saxophone player in the NBC Orchestra on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'', for which he later became assistant director. Newsom was frequently the band's substitute dir ...

, Bill Watrous,

Red Rodney Robert Roland Chudnick (September 27, 1927 – May 27, 1994), known professionally as Red Rodney, was an American jazz trumpeter. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he became a professional musician at 15, working in the mid-1940 ...

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...

Sam Most Samuel Most (December 16, 1930 – June 13, 2013) was an American jazz flutist, clarinetist and tenor saxophonist, based in Los Angeles. He was "probably the first great jazz flutist", according to jazz historian Leonard Feather. Biography He wa ...

, and the Clark Terry Big Band among others. In 1989, he was featured along with Terry and

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards ...

as part of ''Clark Terry and Friends at Town Hall'' during the

JVC Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hir ...

Influences and early career

Helms displayed a talent for music at a young age and was invited to perform with the University of South Carolina Band while in the ninth grade at

Columbia High School Columbia High School may refer to: *Columbia High School (Huntsville, Alabama) *Columbia High School (Georgia) *Columbia High School (Florida) *Columbia High School (Idaho) *Columbia High School (Illinois) *Columbia High School (Mississippi), a Mis ...

. An early stylistic influence was trumpeter Chet Baker, but as his style matured, Helms became a devotee of the great jazz trumpet player Clifford Brown and easily mastered the

hard bop Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospe ...

style and phrasing that was part of Brown's legacy. Helms was an avid supporter of jazz saxophonist Chris Potter who had the opportunity to learn his craft while performing with Helms.

Higher education

Helms earned his Bachelor of Music degree in 1973 from the University of South Carolina and taught music in the public schools for many years.

Jazz festival organizer

Helms was a founding organizer in 1986 (with Veron Melonas), and musical director of the Main Street Jazz Festival in

. Beginning with the summer of 1987, The Jazz Foundation, Inc., a South Carolina non-profit organization founded in 1987, of which Helms was the registered agent, became one of the sponsors of the festival. The foundation's mission was to promote the city of Columbia and to celebrate a uniquely American art form. Other sponsors included the Columbia Action Council (a South Carolina non-profit organization) and The Elite Epicurean Restaurant of Columbia, then owned by Veron S. Melonas (1933–2001). In 1989, the festival featured

, Urbie Green, Bill Watrous,

Jimmy Heath James Edward Heath (October 25, 1926 – January 19, 2020), nicknamed Little Bird, was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader. He was the brother of bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert Heath. Biography Heath w ...

, Chris Potter,

Bill Crow William Orval Crow (born December 27, 1927) is an American jazz bassist. Among other work, Crow was the long-term bassist in saxophonist Gerry Mulligan's bands in the 1950s and 1960s. Early life Crow was born on December 27, 1927, in Othello, ...

Andy Simpkins Andrew Simpkins (April 29, 1932 – June 2, 1999) was an American jazz bassist. Born in Richmond, Indiana, he first became known as a member of the group The Three Sounds, with which he performed from 1956 to 1968.allmusic biography/ref> After ...

, Harold Jones,

Ed Soph Ed Soph (born March 21, 1945, in Coronado, California) is an American jazz drummer and educator. Biography Soph was raised in Houston, Texas. He enrolled at North Texas State University (University of North Texas) in 1963 as a music major but s ...

Johnny Frigo Johnny Frigo (December 27, 1916 – July 4, 2007) was an American jazz violinist, bassist and songwriter. He appeared in the 1940s as a violinist before working as a bassist. He returned to the violin in the 1980s and enjoyed a comeback, recordin ...

Bucky Pizzarelli John Paul "Bucky" Pizzarelli (January 9, 1926 – April 1, 2020) was an American jazz guitarist. He was the father of jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli and double bassist Martin Pizzarelli. He worked for NBC as a staffman for Dick Cavett (1971) ...

John Pizzarelli John Paul Pizzarelli Jr. (born April 6, 1960, in Paterson, New Jersey) is an American jazz guitarist and vocalist. He has recorded over twenty solo albums and has appeared on more than forty albums by other recording artists, including Paul McCa ...

Ross Tompkins Ross Tompkins (May 13, 1938 – June 30, 2006) was an American jazz pianist who was a member of ''The Tonight Show'' Band. Biography Tompkins attended the New England Conservatory of Music, then moved to New York City, where he worked with Kai W ...

, and Derek Smith, among others. Video highlights of the performances were produced by

South Carolina Educational Television South Carolina Educational Television (branded as South Carolina ETV, SCETV or simply ETV) is a state network of Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) member television stations serving the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is owned and operated b ...

Spoleto Festival USA

Johnny Helms was a featured soloist at the 1977 (summer)

Spoleto Festival USA Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of America's major performing arts festivals. It was founded in 1977 by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who sought to establish a counterpart to the Festival dei Due ...

, Charleston, South Carolina with the

One O'Clock Lab Band One O'Clock Lab Band is an ensemble of the Jazz Studies division at the University of North Texas College of Music in Denton, Texas. Since the 1970s, the band's albums have received seven Grammy Award nominations, including two for ''Lab 2009''. ...

Phil Woods Philip Wells Woods (November 2, 1931 – September 29, 2015) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer. Biography Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. After inheriting a saxophone at age 12, he began ...

, Louie Bellson, and Urbie Green. The event marked the first time that the Spoleto festival had been held in the Americas. Since its 1958 founding in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

by Gian Carlo Menotti, jazz had never been performed at a Spoleto event. Since its US spinoff debut in 1977 — Spoleto USA — jazz has held an integral role in what has become the largest performing arts festival in the Americas, dwarfing its Old World parent. A recording of the performance was broadcast March 25, 1978, and September 28, 1978, on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

program, ''Jazz Alive.'' The NPR Broadcasts were part of a jazz series produced by Nation Public Broadcasting called ''Jazz Alive.''

Selected discography

* ''Perdido: The

Columbia Museum of Art The Columbia Museum of Art is an art museum in the American city of Columbia, South Carolina. History The Columbia Museum of Art was originally in the 1908 private residence of the city's Taylor family. Located on Senate Street in Columbia, adj ...

'' : Recorded in

, April 28, 1974 (private recording) : Helms, trumpet, Clark Terry, trumpet,

, guitar * ''Jazz at Spoleto '77'', Left Bank Jazz Society of Charleston LBJSoC LS2692 (1978); , : Live,

, Charleston,

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, May 18, 1977 :

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School, ...

Leon Breeden Harold Leon Breeden (3 October 1921 – 11 August 2010) was a jazz educator and musician. Biography When he was three his parents moved to Wichita Falls, Texas, where he grew up and graduated from high school. He attended Texas Wesleyan College i ...

, director : Featuring Urbie Green (trombone, track 2),

(soprano sax, track 3), Louie Bellson (drums, track 4), Helms (trumpet, track 8 "Joy Spring," by Clifford Brown) * ''The Columbia Jazz Trio Plus Two'' : 1987

SCETV South Carolina Educational Television (branded as South Carolina ETV, SCETV or simply ETV) is a state network of Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) member television stations serving the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is owned and operated b ...

production : Helms, trumpet,

Terry Rosen Terry Rosen (September 26, 1939 – December 30, 1999) was an American jazz guitarist, concert promoter, and radio DJ. Early career Terry Rosen was born in Atlanta, Georgia but moved with his parents to Columbia, South Carolina at the age of thre ...

, guitar, Chris Potter, alto sax, Frank Duvall, bass, Ted Linder Drums * ''The Columbia Jazz Quintet Live at Pug's'' : 1988 by Dig This Productions : Helms, trumpet,

, guitar, Chris Potter, alto sax, Frank Duvall, bass, Ted Linder, drums : Initially recorded for broadcast on

Radio; released on cassette and later CD by the group's leader, Terry Rosen

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helms, Johnny Hard bop trumpeters Post-bop trumpeters American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters Swing trumpeters 1935 births 2015 deaths Musicians from South Carolina University of South Carolina alumni American male jazz musicians