James P. Johnson: influences, peers and legacy

Every connection with its receipt

James P. Johnson turned the fixed architecture of ragtime into the swinging, improvisational language of Harlem stride — the bridge between Scott Joplin's parlors and the rent parties where Fats Waller and Duke Ellington learned their trade. He was also a concert composer and show writer, author of "The Charleston" and symphonic works. This mix follows both careers: the cutting-contest pianists he absorbed, the theater and concert ambitions he chased, and the modernists who inherited his left hand.

The Kynda mix for James P. Johnson

• Key Influence · Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin (1899). Johnson learned the published rag repertoire first, and Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag" was the universal test piece for any young pianist around 1910 New York. Its sixteen-bar strains and march bass are the skeleton Johnson kept while loosening the rhythm, swinging the right hand and filling the left with the walking tenths that became stride. He recorded and performed Joplin material, and his own compositions follow the multi-strain rag form throughout his career.
• Influencia Obscura · Pork and Beans by Luckey Roberts (1913). Charles "Luckey" Roberts was the terror of the New York piano scene when Johnson arrived — enormous hands, murderous tempos, and a repertoire of hard-to-play novelties like "Pork and Beans" and "Junk Man Rag." Johnson repeatedly acknowledged Roberts as the man to beat, and the leaping interval work and right-hand pyrotechnics of stride owe much to Roberts' technical dares. He remains barely known outside specialist circles despite shaping the whole school.
• Local Roots · Echoes of Spring by Willie "The Lion" Smith (1935). Smith, Johnson and Fats Waller were the triumvirate of Harlem stride, working the same rent parties, Jungle Alley clubs and after-hours cutting contests through the 1920s and 30s. "Echoes of Spring" shows Smith's lighter, impressionistic touch beside Johnson's percussive drive — different temperaments from one neighborhood school. Smith spoke often of those contests, where reputations were made by what you could do to another man's tune.
• Beyond the Medium · The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes (1926). Hughes wrote the libretto for Johnson's one-act opera De Organizer, a labor-union work performed in 1940, and the two shared an ambition to build concert and stage art from blues and stride vocabulary. Hughes' collection takes the twelve-bar lament as a poetic form, exactly the move Johnson made in Yamekraw and his symphonic pieces. The collaboration shows Johnson as a Harlem Renaissance artist, not merely an entertainer.
• Peer · Black Bottom Stomp by Jelly Roll Morton (1926). Morton and Johnson are the two great figures carrying ragtime into jazz from opposite ends of the country — New Orleans against Harlem. Both were composer-pianists who thought in multi-strain forms, both arranged for small bands, and both were partly eclipsed by the swing era they helped create. "Black Bottom Stomp" shows Morton's arranging intelligence; set against Johnson's solo recordings it maps two solutions to the same problem.
• From the Canon · Carolina Shout by James P. Johnson (1921). The foundational stride document and the piece every aspiring Harlem pianist had to master. Derived from the ring-shout dance rhythms Johnson heard at Southern migrants' parties, it pits a rocking, cross-rhythmic left hand against hammering right-hand figures. Ellington learned it from the piano roll by slowing the mechanism and tracing the keys; Waller learned it from Johnson himself. No single recording better explains what Johnson invented.
• Key Collaborator · Backwater Blues by Bessie Smith (1927). Johnson accompanied Bessie Smith on some of her greatest sides, and "Backwater Blues" — just voice and piano, his fills answering her lines about the flood — is the summit of the partnership. His restraint here is instructive: the stride virtuoso becomes a responsive second voice, shaping space rather than filling it. The pairing also tied him to the classic blues tradition and to the 1927 Mississippi flood as subject matter.
• Legacy · Ain't Misbehavin' by Fats Waller (1929). Waller sought Johnson out as a teenage organist and became his student, learning "Carolina Shout" note for note and absorbing the whole stride method at the keyboard beside him. He then became the style's most popular ambassador, carrying Johnson's technique into hit records and films. "Ain't Misbehavin'" is a songwriting triumph built on that inherited architecture — the pupil's fame eventually eclipsing the teacher's.

What influenced James P. Johnson

• Scott Joplin. Johnson grew up listening to Joplin's music. (also via Maple Leaf Rag, Euphonic Sounds) “He grew up listening to the ragtime of Scott Joplin and always retained links to the ragtime era, playing and recording Joplin's " Maple Leaf Rag "” (Wikipedia)
• Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin. Maple Leaf Rag (Scott Joplin) — titan for James P. Johnson “playing and recording Joplin's " Maple Leaf Rag ", [ 9 ] as well as the more modern (according to Johnson) and demanding "Euphonic Sounds", both several times in the 1940s.” (Wikipedia)
• The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes (1926). The Weary Blues (Langston Hughes) — culture for James P. Johnson “He collaborated with Langston Hughes on the one-act opera, De Organizer.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin. Rhapsody in Blue (George Gershwin) — culture for James P. Johnson “During this period he met George Gershwin, who was also a young piano-roll artist at Aeolian.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Bruto Giannini. Johnson studied piano with Giannini. “From 1913 to 1916, Johnson spent time studying the European piano tradition with Bruto Giannini.” (Wikipedia)
• Maury Deutsch. Johnson studied with Deutsch. “Never satisfied with the state of his craft, he continued his musical education, begun in the 1930s, studying with Maury Deutsch , who could also count Django Reinhardt and Charlie Parker among his pupils.” (Wikipedia)
• Johann Sebastian Bach. The article notes Johnson's admiration for Bach while describing his musical devices. “a worked out set of melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic devices, such as repeated chords, serial thirds (hence his admiration for Bach), and interpolated scales, on which the improvisations were based.” (Wikipedia)
• Charleston Rag by Eubie Blake (1917). Charleston Rag (Eubie Blake) — titan for James P. Johnson “Before 1920, Johnson had gained a reputation as a pianist on the East coast on a par with Eubie Blake and Luckey Roberts and made dozens of player piano roll recordings initially documenting his own ragtime compositions before recording …” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Pork and Beans by Luckey Roberts (1913). Pork and Beans (Luckey Roberts) — ghost for James P. Johnson “Before 1920, Johnson had gained a reputation as a pianist on the East coast on a par with Eubie Blake and Luckey Roberts and made dozens of player piano roll recordings initially documenting his own ragtime compositions before recording …” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Shuffle Along by Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake (1921). Shuffle Along (Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake) — culture for James P. Johnson (wikidata.org)
• Harlem Rag by Tom Turpin (1897). Harlem Rag (Tom Turpin) — titan for James P. Johnson
• Double Fudge by Joe Jordan (1902). Double Fudge (Joe Jordan) — ghost for James P. Johnson

Peers and kindred spirits

• Bessie Smith. Whitehead notes Johnson's role as Bessie Smith's best accompanist. (also via Carolina Shout, Backwater Blues) “She made 160 recordings for Columbia, often accompanied by the finest musicians of the day, notably Louis Armstrong , Coleman Hawkins , Fletcher Henderson , James P. Johnson , Joe Smith , and Charlie Green .” (Wikipedia)
• Louis Armstrong. Johnson performed with Armstrong. (also via If I Could Be with You (One Hour Tonight)) “Music James P. Johnson Lyrics Henry Creamer Vocalist Eva Taylor introduced this song in a 1927 recording with husband Clarence Williams ’ Blue Five.” (JazzStandards.com)
• Langston Hughes (1902). Johnson collaborated with Hughes on De Organizer. (also via The Weary Blues) “He collaborated with Langston Hughes on the one-act opera, De Organizer .” (Wikipedia)
• Willie "The Lion" Smith. Johnson and Smith participated in piano contests together. (also via Echoes of Spring) “In 1944, Johnson and Willie "The Lion" Smith participated in stride piano contests in Greenwich Village from August to December.” (Wikipedia)
• Black and Tan Fantasy by Duke Ellington. Black and Tan Fantasy (Duke Ellington) — geography for James P. Johnson “Johnson was a major influence on Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, Thelonious Monk, and Fats Waller, who was his student.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Blue Horizon by Sidney Bechet (1944). Blue Horizon (Sidney Bechet) — collaborator for James P. Johnson “When Johnson returned to action, in 1942, he began a heavy schedule of performing, composing, and recording, leading several small live and groups, now often with racially integrated bands led by musicians such as Eddie Condon, Yank Laws…” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Euphonic Sounds by Scott Joplin. Johnson played and recorded Joplin's Euphonic Sounds. “playing and recording Joplin's " Maple Leaf Rag ", [ 9 ] as well as the more modern (according to Johnson) and demanding "Euphonic Sounds", both several times in the 1940s.” (Wikipedia)
• Lillie Mae Wright. Johnson performed with singer Lillie Mae Wright. “In 1914, while performing in Newark, New Jersey with singer Lillie Mae Wright , who became his wife three years later, Johnson met Willie "The Lion" Smith .” (Wikipedia)
• Cecil Mack. Mack helped Johnson write Runnin' Wild. “During the summer of 1923, Johnson, along with the help of lyricist Cecil Mack , wrote the revue Runnin' Wild .” (Wikipedia)
• Conrad Janis. Johnson played piano in a band assembled by Janis. “In 1949 as an 18-year-old, actor and band leader Conrad Janis put together a band of musicians, consisting of James P. Johnson (piano), Henry Goodwin (trumpet), Edmond Hall (clarinet), Pops Foster (bass) and Baby Dodds (drums), with Jani…” (Wikipedia)
• William Grant Still. Still orchestrated Johnson's Yamekraw. “Premiered in 1928, Johnson's Yamekraw, a Negro Rhapsody , was named after a black community in Savannah, Georgia. William Grant Still was orchestrator and Fats Waller the pianist” (Wikipedia)
• Ethel Waters (1896). Johnson accompanied Waters. “He developed into a sensitive and facile accompanist, the favorite accompanist of Ethel Waters and Bessie Smith .” (Wikipedia)
• Marcus Roberts (1963). Whitehead notes Marcus Roberts's modernized revamp of Johnson's piece 'Yamekraw.' (via Yamekraw) “Revivals include a new, modernized revamp of Johnson's sweet "Yamekraw," by pianist Marcus Roberts.” (Fresh Air (NPR/WHYY))
• Echoes of Spring by Willie "The Lion" Smith (1939). Echoes of Spring (Willie "The Lion" Smith) — geography for James P. Johnson “=== Early career: 1914—1929 === In 1914, while performing in Newark, New Jersey with singer Lillie Mae Wright, who became his wife three years later, Johnson met Willie "The Lion" Smith.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Black Bottom Stomp by Jelly Roll Morton (1926). Black Bottom Stomp (Jelly Roll Morton) — peer for James P. Johnson “A pioneer of stride piano, he was one of the most important pianists in the early era of recording, and like Jelly Roll Morton, one of the key figures in the evolution of ragtime into what was eventually called jazz.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• A Monday Date by Earl Hines (1928). A Monday Date (Earl Hines) — peer for James P. Johnson (musicbrainz.org)
• Backwater Blues by Bessie Smith (1927). Backwater Blues (Bessie Smith) — collaborator for James P. Johnson “He developed into a sensitive and facile accompanist, the favorite accompanist of Ethel Waters and Bessie Smith.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Keep Shufflin' by Fats Waller (1928). Keep Shufflin' (Fats Waller) — collaborator for James P. Johnson “Johnson was a major influence on Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, Thelonious Monk, and Fats Waller, who was his student.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Crazy Blues by Mamie Smith (1920). Crazy Blues (Mamie Smith) — geography for James P. Johnson
• Gravier Street Blues by Clarence Williams (1927). Gravier Street Blues (Clarence Williams) — peer for James P. Johnson

Who James P. Johnson influenced

• Fats Waller. Whitehead states Johnson's stride piano style influenced Fats Waller. (also via Keep Shufflin', Ain't Misbehavin') “Shortly after the death of Fats’ mother, James P. took Fats under his wing and painstakingly taught him basic technique, the concept of composition and improvisation, and, of course, the language of stride.” (Transitional Technology)
• Duke Ellington (1899). Whitehead states Johnson's stride piano style influenced Duke Ellington. (also via Carolina Shout, Black and Tan Fantasy) “During the 1920s Cliff Jackson, Donald Lambert, Duke Ellington, Willie Gant, and other younger pianists like Fats Waller entered the cutting contests. As testimony to James P.’s superiority, they often used one of his compositions as the…” (Transitional Technology)
• Count Basie. Whitehead states Johnson's stride piano style influenced Count Basie. (also via Carolina Shout, One O'Clock Jump) “Johnson was a major influence on Count Basie , Duke Ellington , Art Tatum , Thelonious Monk , and Fats Waller , who was his student.” (Wikipedia)
• George Gershwin. Sadin places Gershwin’s playing and writing in Johnson’s stylistic tradition. (also via Carolina Shout, Rhapsody in Blue) “his great piano playing and writing are an extension of the style of James P. and his colleagues.” (Gershwin’s World liner notes, reproduced by Herbie Hancock)
• Art Tatum (1909). Whitehead states Johnson's stride piano style influenced Art Tatum. (also via Tiger Rag) “Johnson was a major influence on Count Basie , Duke Ellington , Art Tatum , Thelonious Monk , and Fats Waller , who was his student.” (Wikipedia)
• Thelonious Monk (1917). Whitehead states Johnson's stride piano style influenced Thelonious Monk. (also via Thelonious) “Johnson was a major influence on Count Basie , Duke Ellington , Art Tatum , Thelonious Monk , and Fats Waller , who was his student.” (Wikipedia)
• Donald Lambert. Lambert is listed among pianists influenced by Johnson. “During the 1920s Cliff Jackson, Donald Lambert, Duke Ellington, Willie Gant, and other younger pianists like Fats Waller entered the cutting contests. As testimony to James P.’s superiority, they often used one of his compositions as the…” (Transitional Technology)
• Cliff Jackson. Jackson is listed among pianists influenced by Johnson. “During the 1920s Cliff Jackson, Donald Lambert, Duke Ellington, Willie Gant, and other younger pianists like Fats Waller entered the cutting contests. As testimony to James P.’s superiority, they often used one of his compositions as the…” (Transitional Technology)
• Dick Hyman. Hyman appears in the list of pianists influenced by Johnson. “As anyone who has listened carefully to Dick knows, his ability to play fluently in the style of, say, James P. Johnson or Erroll Garner isn't an attempt to pass himself off as someone he's not.” (JazzWax)
• Dick Wellstood. Wellstood appears in the list of pianists influenced by Johnson. “Well, in New York, at the same time when I was a kid that I was listening to James P. Johnson or Willie "The Lion" Smith, still I used to hear Bud Powell.” (Canadian Jazz Archive Online)
• Ralph Sutton. Sutton appears in the list of pianists influenced by Johnson. “Ralph Sutton learned the traditional stride piano styles of James P. Johnson and Fats Waller, and brought it to post-War audiences around the world for over fifty years.” (NAMM Oral History Program)
• Neville Dickie. Dickie appears in the list of pianists influenced by Johnson. “At a friend’s house I heard a record of James P. Johnson ’s “Roumania.” I fell in love with it.” (The Syncopated Times)
• Mike Lipskin. Lipskin appears in the list of pianists influenced by Johnson. “When he was 13, Lipskin, enchanted by the stride piano of James P. Johnson, Fats Waller and Smith, started hanging out with the Lion.” (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Earl Hines (1903). Whitehead states Johnson's stride piano style influenced Earl Hines. (also via A Monday Date) “His buoyant touch and phrasing influenced Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Earl Hines, Art Tatum, Count Basie, Thelonious Monk and many of their admirers.” (Fresh Air (NPR/WHYY))
• Ain't Misbehavin' by Fats Waller. Ain't Misbehavin' (Fats Waller) — legacy for James P. Johnson “Johnson was a major influence on Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, Thelonious Monk, and Fats Waller, who was his student.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• One O'Clock Jump by Count Basie (1937). One O'Clock Jump (Count Basie) — legacy for James P. Johnson “Johnson was a major influence on Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, Thelonious Monk, and Fats Waller, who was his student.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Mike Stoller. The article says Johnson gave Stoller lessons. “According to Hound Dog , the 2009 biography of the song-writing partnership between Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber , James P. Johnson also gave lessons to Stoller.” (Wikipedia)
• Louis Mazetier. Mazetier is listed among pianists influenced by Johnson. “pianists who were influenced by him, including Art Tatum, Donald Lambert, Louis Mazetier , Pat Flowers , Cliff Jackson , Hank Duncan , Claude Hopkins , Duke Ellington, Count Basie , Don Ewell” (Wikipedia)
• Pat Flowers. Flowers is listed among pianists influenced by Johnson. “pianists who were influenced by him, including Art Tatum, Donald Lambert, Louis Mazetier , Pat Flowers , Cliff Jackson , Hank Duncan , Claude Hopkins , Duke Ellington, Count Basie , Don Ewell” (Wikipedia)
• Hank Duncan. Duncan is listed among pianists influenced by Johnson. “pianists who were influenced by him, including Art Tatum, Donald Lambert, Louis Mazetier , Pat Flowers , Cliff Jackson , Hank Duncan , Claude Hopkins , Duke Ellington, Count Basie , Don Ewell” (Wikipedia)
• Claude Hopkins. Hopkins is listed among pianists influenced by Johnson. “pianists who were influenced by him, including Art Tatum, Donald Lambert, Louis Mazetier , Pat Flowers , Cliff Jackson , Hank Duncan , Claude Hopkins , Duke Ellington, Count Basie , Don Ewell” (Wikipedia)
• Don Ewell. Ewell is listed among pianists influenced by Johnson. “pianists who were influenced by him, including Art Tatum, Donald Lambert, Louis Mazetier , Pat Flowers , Cliff Jackson , Hank Duncan , Claude Hopkins , Duke Ellington, Count Basie , Don Ewell” (Wikipedia)
• Johnny Guarnieri. Guarnieri appears in the list of pianists influenced by Johnson. “Don Ewell , Johnny Guarnieri , Dick Hyman , Dick Wellstood, Ralph Sutton , Joe Turner , Neville Dickie , Mike Lipskin , and Butch Thompson .” (Wikipedia)
• Joe Turner. Turner appears in the list of pianists influenced by Johnson. “Don Ewell , Johnny Guarnieri , Dick Hyman , Dick Wellstood, Ralph Sutton , Joe Turner , Neville Dickie , Mike Lipskin , and Butch Thompson .” (Wikipedia)
• Butch Thompson. Thompson appears in the list of pianists influenced by Johnson. “Don Ewell , Johnny Guarnieri , Dick Hyman , Dick Wellstood, Ralph Sutton , Joe Turner , Neville Dickie , Mike Lipskin , and Butch Thompson .” (Wikipedia)
• Thelonious by Thelonious Monk (1947). Thelonious (Thelonious Monk) — legacy for James P. Johnson “Johnson was a major influence on Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, Thelonious Monk, and Fats Waller, who was his student.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Tiger Rag by Art Tatum (1933). Tiger Rag (Art Tatum) — legacy for James P. Johnson “Johnson was a major influence on Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, Thelonious Monk, and Fats Waller, who was his student.” (en.wikipedia.org)