jimmy johnson

lowstar · #1 07-08-2002, 03:31 AM

hi fellow tieftöners,

recently i´ve been listening a lot to allan holdsworth records, and i really dig the amazing bass work of jimmy johnson. searching on the web, i could not get any useful information on him, so now i´m asking you guys: does anybody know about web sites that feature him, have articles on him or copies of interviews with him ??

peace,
lowstar

Brad Johnson · #2 07-08-2002, 08:55 AM

AMG All Music

http://www.ejn.it/mus/jimmy_j.htm

MarkMcCombs · #3 07-08-2002, 11:01 AM

You can hear and watch him on probably the greatest quality sounding DVD concert available, James Taylor's Live at the Beacon Theatre (theater?). His playing is great, not showy, but just tasteful and beautiful.

Philbiker · #4 07-08-2002, 11:49 AM

Also, If you're not offended by mellow (not "smooth") jazz, I recommend any of the CDs by his studio only band "Flim & The BBs". Some really amazing basswork on those CDs.

JimK · #5 07-08-2002, 03:47 PM

I have an '80s Guitar Player mag with a nice Johnson interview(no, I don't have a scanner).

I would think Johnson hadda be one of the first 5-string players out there...Brad, any idea?

I also recall JJ sayin' he's never slapped/popped.
...he also mentioned that "stupid little fill" in "Metal Fatigue".
If I think about it, I'll re-read the article & post some nuggets.

Brad Johnson · #6 07-08-2002, 04:13 PM

AFAIK he was one of the very first with a real five.

I don't consider the Fender Bass V a real five, more like a nightmare realised in wood, plastic and metal.

JimK · #7 07-08-2002, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Brad Johnson
I don't consider the Fender Bass V a real five, more like a nightmare realised in wood, plastic and metal.

I keep forgetting about that "POS".

Philbiker · #8 07-09-2002, 07:04 AM

I vaguely remember reading somewhere that JJ doesn't know music. I mean written music, he's a "feel" player in the mold of Billy Sheehan and Paul McCartney. Don't know if it's true. I do know that he's a great player though.

rustyshakelford · #9 07-09-2002, 09:51 AM

I saw Jimmy Johnson with Allan Holdsworth in 1987 at Rutgers, promoting Sand. Good show. He had his 5 string; I think it was an Alembic.

In the middle of the show, he had a problem with it. The crowd was anxious; was he going to resort to a mere 4 string, or did he have more than one of these unheard of 5 strings?

A roadie produced an identical 5 string, swapped it out and the band played on. The crowd cheered and laughed.

I recall he later played on the Joan Rivers show band in the late 80's. Ha!

I read somewhere that his dad was an upright bassist in an orchestra. I believe he is from Minneapolis.

Anyhow, his dad had an extension on his upright that allowed him to get C#.

Most 5 strings in 1980's were tuned E-C, not B-G. I believe it was his experience with his dad that prompted him to tune low.

And I know his nickname is Flim, hence his band Flim and the BB's. "New Pants" is a pretty good album; you can often find it used. They were one of the first bands to use digital recording. As a result, audiofiles frequently use their album to evaluate stereo systems.

I agree with the note on James Taylor. His playing on the live album is great. Also, his playing on Hourglass is great, too. The single from this album "Line 'Em Up" has some great latin-tinged bass lines.

I agree, too, with the comment that his basslines are well stated, tasteful, yet reflect virtuosity.

MarkMcCombs · #10 07-09-2002, 10:42 AM

and it looks to me that on the James Taylor live DVD he's using an Alembic, at least that's what I've always thought it was. (get the DVD!)

jerry · #11 07-09-2002, 02:43 PM

Jimmy Johnson has always reminded me of Anthony Jackson.......both players seem to just float time, and their basslines are things of beauty.....they don't need bass solos! Great players! Speaking of Holdsworth.....I recently got a live DVD with bassist Bob Carpenter...Yikes!...........that guy F*&^ing smokes!!!!!

bassbrad · #12 07-09-2002, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Philbiker
I vaguely remember reading somewhere that JJ doesn't know music. I mean written music,

Must be a different Jimmy Johnson, this JJ was a first call LA bass player and he had to be able to read quite well.
I love Jimmy's sense of meoldy on bass probably because he played piano and clarinet in school. His dad is a string bassist and piano technitian and his mom is a piano teacher/player. His brother Gordon plays flute and bass with Maynard Ferguson and Chuck Mangione.

There is a Muscle Shoals bass player named Jimmy Johnson and he might not read anything but chord and Nashville charts.

lowstar · #13 07-11-2002, 02:07 PM

hey guys,

today was the first day i could check the computer for answers since i posted then jj subject, and i´m happy about all your comments. i´ll be on vacation for two weeks from tomorrow on, and return with a post when i´m back.

peace,
lowstar

Philbiker · #14 07-12-2002, 07:41 AM

I don't remember where I picked that up, but I was very skeptical after hearding the intricate and very musical work on the Flim & the BBs discs (as you can tell from the way I posted that). Not that you have to have "formal musical training" to be musical or intricate... Oh, I'm getting myself in more trouble here.....

zombywoof5050 · #15 07-12-2002, 11:50 PM

Yeah, JJ's great, I've seen him several times with Holdsworth.
Another interesting thing to note, that no one else has mentioned, is that his 5-string Alembics have graphite necks (from what I've heard, some of the earliest ones).

Brad Johnson · #16 08-16-2002, 06:41 AM

Jimmy's on the Today Show this morning with JT.

HannibalSpector · #17 08-16-2002, 06:58 AM

I saw Allan Holdsworth play recently.

Jimmy Johnson stole the show.

He would be one of my favourite bassplayers and his tone is just A1+

He was using a very fancy looking Alembic 5 , an eden amp , probably a wt600 with a 4x10 I think.

cheers

MarkMcCombs · #18 08-16-2002, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Brad Johnson
Jimmy's on the Today Show this morning with JT.

dang it, I knew it and forgot. Well, JT is also performing on TV on Monday, I forget which show. I'm sure a browse thru his website will tell.

rustyshakelford · #19 08-16-2002, 12:00 PM

I, too, am disappointed I missed JJ. (I wonder how is the new JT.)

I was thinking several months ago it would be nice to have a calender type forum where readers could post these televised appearances.

For example, when Meshelle Ndege Ocello played the tonight show, many TB'ers missed it, yet several knew she was going to play. Perhaps this could be posted as a notice, organized by day.

A reader could swing by Talkbass and while here check to see if there are any musical acts on television that evening that merit attention.

Similarly readers could exchange pre-viewing critiques of the bass player to appear:
"James Taylor will be playing this morning ... His bassist is .... He previously played with ... was one of the first bassists to use a 5 string, ..."

MarkMcCombs · #20 08-16-2002, 12:18 PM

that sounds like a good idea. I vote that Rusty heads it up and moderates. It would be like pollstar.com for bassplayer appearances.

Actually, I have thought in the past that a Concerts or Live Appearances forum might be nice, where we could review appearances of bands, and primarily the bass players.