J.J. Johnson and Kai Winding Trombone Octet

 This is a post about a piece that I highlighted in my student listening presentation, but I really want to talk about this album as a whole

Link to Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBSYIYm-jmI&list=OLAK5uy_mHyL2dBqNVBcGJlVuVRk14QabpOC-zNro 

To me, the idea of of a commercial release of an album of what is mostly trombone ensemble music is fascinating. In the modern landscape of Youtube and music streaming, it's really pretty easy to record and put out ensemble music like this, but to do so in 1956 when this album was recorded is wild to me. 

J.J. Johnson at that time was already a pretty successful trombone player, and is heralded as one of the great jazz trombone players of all time. But even then, most of the music he recorded in his career was was mixed combo music, and this stands out to me. I couldn't find any hard sales data for this album or even much in the way of background information on it sadly. I'd really like to know what served as the inspiration for it. 

I think it's cool that it stands out against a lot of trombone choir music that we have today. The album is all jazz and commercial style music. While there are some pieces like that that get performed by trombone choirs today, the bulk of trombone choir music is more in the classical style, or some sort of fusion of the two styles. One of the big challenges of making commercial style music sound more authentic is that you need some sort of rhythm section which can be a challenge to organize, but I think that it's worth it. 

I think my favorite tune on the album is the version of "The Peanut Vendor" that they do. They add a lot of dissonant things that come off to me as a little tongue and cheek, and I love to see that kind of humor in music. 

I think this album serves as a fascinating look into trombone ensemble music at a time where there wasn't a lot for the instrument, and certainly wasn't being recorded, much less on this type of release.  

Comments

  1. Anna KellyApril 29, 2025 at 1:25 PM

    I think this album plays more like it was meant for JJ to feel like a pop star than for the mass consumer to perceive it as such. I agree that it is interesting to release this as a commercial album, however we can't completely discount the subsect of people who are not music majors who do simply enjoy listening to instrumental music. I feel as though its easy for us to forget that those people do exist when we, as aspiring professionals, are constantly told that instrumental music is a dying art.

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