Frederic Homer Johnson (November 19, 1908 – November 8, 1967), known professionally as Keg Johnson, was an American

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 m ...

trombonist.

Early life

He was born in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. His father was a choir director there and also worked at a local Studebaker plant where Keg also worked for a while. He and his younger brother,

Budd Johnson Albert J. "Budd" Johnson III (December 14, 1910 – October 20, 1984) was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist who worked extensively with, among others, Ben Webster, Benny Goodman, Big Joe Turner, Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke ...

, began their musical careers singing and playing first with their father and later with

Portia Pittman Portia Marshall Washington Pittman (June 6, 1883 – February 26, 1978) was the daughter of Booker T. Washington and Fannie Smith Washington. Pittman was the first African-American to graduate from the Bradford Academy in Bradford, Massachusetts ...

, daughter of

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...

. Keg played various instruments but is most noted for the trombone. The two brothers played in Dallas-area bands as the Blue Moon Chasers and later in Ben Smith's Music Makers. Eventually they performed with an Amarillo group led by Gene Coy called The Happy Black Aces.

Career

In the late 1920s, the Johnson brothers played in several bands in Dallas, including Terence Holder’s Dark Clouds of Joy. In 1929 they were playing with Jesse Stone, with whom they travelled to Kansas City and joined George E. Lee. By 1930 Keg had settled in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

playing with

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 ...

, Cassino Simpson, and Eddie Mallory, amongst others, before touring and recording with Louis Armstrong from January 1933, and recording his first solo on Armstrong's '' Basin Street Blues''. In 1933, Keg Johnson went to New York, playing and recording with

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 ...

(1933–4), Fletcher Henderson (February–November 1934) and, in 1935, began his long-running collaboration with Cab CallowayKoch, Lawrence; Barry Kernfeld
"Johnson, Keg."
''Grove Music Online''. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 29 November 2022. at the

Cotton Club The Cotton Club was a New York City nightclub from 1923 to 1940. It was located on 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue (1923–1936), then briefly in the midtown Theater District (1936–1940).Elizabeth Winter"Cotton Club of Harlem (1923- )" Blac ...

. Johnson remained with Cab Calloway for some 15 years, coinciding with fellow trombonists

Claude Jones Claude Jones (February 11, 1901 – January 17, 1962) was an American jazz trombonist. Biography Born in Boley, Oklahoma, United States, Jones began playing trombone at the age of 13, and studied at Wilberforce College before dropping out in 1 ...

and DePriest Wheeler and later

Tyree Glenn Tyree Glenn, born William Tyree Glenn (November 23, 1912, Corsicana, Texas, United States, – May 18, 1974, Englewood, New Jersey), was an American trombone and vibraphone player. Biography Tyree played trombone and vibraphone with local Texas ...

and Quentin Jackson, as well as other musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, Gillespie, Dizzy (2009
''To Be, Or Not... to Bop'', p. 108. U of Minnesota Press.
''Google Books''. Retrieved 18 May 2013. before moving to Los Angeles where he briefly changed careers renovating houses. During the 1950s he returned to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

where he and his brother recorded the album ''Let's Swing''. In 1961, Keg began playing with

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

and was still in his band when Keg died in Chicago on November 8, 1967.

Personal life

His son, Frederic Homer "Keg" Johnson, Jr. (October 24, 1939 — May 16, 2015), was a record producer whose first production was the R&B hit, "Going In Circles", performed by The Friends of Distinction. He also produced

the Sylvers The Sylvers were an American R&B family vocal group from Watts, Los Angeles, California. The Sylvers were a popular act during the 1970s, recording the hit singles "Fool's Paradise", " Boogie Fever", and " Hot Line". Prior to becoming the Syl ...

, Lakeside,

Shalamar Shalamar () is an American R&B and soul music vocal group active since the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. Shalamar's classic line-up on the SOLAR label consisted of Howard Hewett, Jody Watley, and Jeffrey Daniel, together with dancer ...

LeVert LeVert was an American R&B vocal group from Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Formed in 1983, LeVert was composed of Sean and Gerald Levert (sons of Eddie Levert, founder and lead singer of R&B/Soul vocal group O'Jays) and Marc Gordon.Wells, ...

The Brothers Johnson The Brothers Johnson were an American funk and R&B band consisting of American musicians and brothers George ("Lightnin' Licks") and Louis E. Johnson ("Thunder Thumbs"). They achieved their greatest success from the mid-1970s to early 1980s, ...

Gene Harris Gene Harris (born Eugene Haire, September 1, 1933 – January 16, 2000) was an American jazz pianist known for his warm sound and blues and gospel infused style that is known as soul jazz. From 1956 to 1970, he played in The Three Sounds tri ...

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack (; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing gui ...

the Blind Boys of Alabama The Blind Boys of Alabama, also billed as The Five Blind Boys of Alabama, and Clarence Fountain and the Blind Boys of Alabama, is an American Gospel music, gospel group. The group was founded in 1939 in Talladega, Alabama, and has featured a ch ...

, and more.

Discography

, ''Genius + Soul = Jazz'' (Impulse!, 1961) *

Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band The Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band was a jazz big band co-led by American drummer Kenny Clarke and Belgian pianist François "Francy" Boland. They were one of the most noteworthy jazz big bands formed outside the United States, featuring top ...

, '' Handle with Care'' (Atlantic, 1963) * Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band, '' Now Hear Our Meanin''' (Columbia, 1966) *

Gil Evans Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian–American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators in jazz, playing an important role i ...

, ''Out of the Cool'' (Impulse!, 1961) * Fletcher Henderson, ''Swing's the Thing'' (Decca, 1961) *

, ''Let's Swing'' (Prestige Swingville, 1960)

References

1908 births 1967 deaths American jazz trombonists Male trombonists Musicians from Dallas 20th-century American musicians 20th-century trombonists Jazz musicians from Texas 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians The Cab Calloway Orchestra members {{texas-bio-stub