A Cinderella Story

Dick Johnson's Dream Comes True As Director Of Artie Shaw's Orchestra

Dick Johnson, director of	Artie Shaw during the height of
the Artie Shaw Orchestra	his career, circa 1940.

by

Stephen Fratallone/Jazz Connection Magazine

        The way clarinetist Dick Johnson sees it, his musical career as director of the Artie Shaw Orchestra for the past 22 years has been a Cinderella Story. Having paid his dues as a musician in the Navy during World War II and working as a sideman in the bands of Charlie Spivak, Neil Hefti, Buddy Morrow and Buddy Rich, Johnson was given the ultimate compliment by Shaw himself in 1983 asking him to lead a new Artie Shaw Orchestra. It was a dream come true for the veteran clarinetist.

"I idolized Artie since I was fourteen and it happened that he liked my playing and I got his band," said Johnson, 79, via telephone from his home in Brockton, MA. "That sort of threw me into a 'what-am-I-gonna-do-now?' mode. It has been a Cinderella Story for me. I've been doing it (leading the Shaw band) for quite a while and I'm having the time of my life."

During the heyday of the Big Band Era, clarinet virtuoso Artie Shaw led one of the most popular bands of all time, becoming one of music's biggest stars. His classic versions of Hoagy Carmichael's Stardust and Cole Porter's Begin The Beguine took the country by storm, placing him in competition with rival clarinetist Benny Goodman for the title of "King of Swing." Shaw was known as the "King of the Clarinet." A brilliant and adventurous talent with a restless soul, he sold millions of records and was hailed by both fans and his peers as one of the greatest swing musicians ever.

While Shaw's "new" band was one of many "ghost bands" (so named because the bands of deceased bandleaders were being led by others) to appear on the big band circuit during the 1980's, it is unique because the name-bearing bandleader (in this case Shaw himself) was still alive at its inception.

"Artie's band is unusual in that way because we did have Artie with us since the band's beginning right up until the time he died," Johnson said. "Having him around to support the band as a resource, a critic, a cheerleader, and as a friend was tremendous. No other band could say that about itself."

Shaw died on Dec. 30, 2004, at age 94.

Northern California aficionados of Shaw's music can have the opportunity of hearing the new Artie Shaw Orchestra under the direction of Dick Johnson when they come to the Paradise Performing Arts Center in Paradise, CA, on Friday, April 1, 2005 at 7:30 p.m. The band's appearance will be held in conjunction as a fund raiser for the PPAC. A portable wooden dance floor will be set up at the foot of the stage for those who wish to dance.

"We'll be playing most of Artie's hits," Johnson said, "things like Dancing In The Dark, Back Bay Shuffle, Softly As In A Morning Sunrise, Rose Room, What Is This Thing Call Love?, Stardust and of course, Begin The Beguine. In fact, Stardust goes over bigger than Begin The Beguine."

Also look for a few selections from Shaw's small group, the Gramercy Five, Johnson said

Shaw was born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky in May 23, 1910, in New York City. He grew up in New Haven, CT, where he was stung by anti-Semitic insults.

He was playing professionally at age14 and touring at 16. The youngster settled in Cleveland for a time, working with Cleveland's top band leader, Austin Wylie. Shaw did the arranging and rehearsing for Wylie’s band. He joined Irving Aaronson’s band at 19, moving to Hollywood. 

Shaw's influences ranged from Louis Armstrong to Debussy, Bartók and Stravinsky. Shaw settled in New York and, at the age of 21, quickly became the best lead alto sax and clarinet player in the Big Apple, with many performances on the radio and visits to the recording studios. He backed up jazz singer Billie Holiday on some of her earliest recordings.

Shaw's big break came when he asked to lead a small group for a swing concert at New York's Imperial Theater on May 24,1936. Performing Interlude In B-Flat, he provided an unorthodox band comprising a string quartet, a rhythm section minus piano, and his clarinet. The audience response was overwhelming and the buzz garnered Shaw both a record contract and his own orchestra, which he debuted the following month with a trumpet, trombone and tenor sax front line, a four-piece standard rhythm section, and a string quartet. 

Members of that early band included four future bandleaders: tenor saxophonist/vocalist Tony Pastor; trumpeter Lee Castaldo (Castle), who would go on to lead the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra after Dorsey's death in 1957; trombonist Moe Zudecoff (Buddy Morrow), who led his own band in the 1950s and has been the musical director of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra for the past 25 years; and violinist/arranger  Jerry Gray, whose arrangements were later to be an important part of Glenn Miller's musical library in both his civilian and military outfits.

The band had a unique sound but wasn't a commercial success. The string quartet approach was discarded and in early 1937, Shaw reorganized his band in a conventional big band format. The band, called Art Shaw and His New Music, was developing its sound and in addition to Pastor and Gray who stayed on from the first band, boasted fine sidemen such as trumpeter Johnny Best; trombonist George Arus; lead alto saxophonist Les Robinson; and drummer George Wettling.

In 1938, Shaw became a star with his recording of Gray's arrangement of the Cole Porter tune, Begin The Beguine (recorded July 24). Other hits soon followed including Indian Love Call, Back Bay Shuffle, Any Old Time (all on July 24 with Billie Holiday featured on the vocal on the latter tune); Shaw's mournful theme song, Nightmare, and Non-Stop Flight (both on Sept. 27); and Softly As In A Morning Sunrise (Nov. 17).

It was during this period that Helen Forrest joined on as the band's vocalist, cutting some impressive sides as Thanks For Everything (Nov. 17, 1938); Deep Purple (March 12, 1939); Day In, Day Out (Aug. 27, 1939); and All The Things You Are (Oct. 26, 1939).

Throughout 1939, the Shaw band was gaining popularity and winning many swing band polls. Band personnel was beefed up with the addition of tenor saxophonist Georgie Auld, trombonist Les Jenkins, and drummer Buddy Rich, who helped swing the band on more "flag-waving" hits such as The Donkey Serenade (Jan. 23, 1939); Rose Room (Jan. 31, 1939); One Night Stand (March 17, 1939); Traffic Jam (June 12, 1939); Serenade To A Savage (June 22, 1939); and Oh! Lady Be Good (Aug. 27, 1939). 

The band appeared in its first movie, Dancing Co-Ed, starring Lana Turner and Ann Rutherford, and was the feature band on the Old Gold radio program with Robert Benchley.

Unable emotionally to cope with the pressures of stardom, Shaw took a protracted holiday to Mexico in November 1939, handing the reigns over to George Auld. The band stayed together for about three months until the men took jobs with other big name bands.

While in Mexico, Shaw became musically invigorated. By January 1940, he returned to the United States with the idea of forming a sixty-five-piece orchestra. That size orchestra never materialized, but on March 3, 1940, Shaw recorded with 32 musicians and produced another hit, Frenesi.

A touring band with a string section collected more hits, including Temptation (Sept. 7, 1940), Stardust (Oct. 7, 1940), Concerto For Clarinet (Dec. 17, 1940), Moonglow and Dancing In The Dark (both Jan. 23, 1941). Shaw's new band included such virtuosos as trumpeter Billy Butterfield; trombonists Jack Jenny and Ray Conniff; tenor saxophonist Jerry Jerome; electric guitarist Al Hendrickson; and drummer Nick Fatool. Robinson remained as Shaw's lead alto saxophonist.

In 1940, Shaw co-starred with Fred Astaire, Burgess Meredith and Paulette Goddard in the "B" flick, Second Chorus.

In later highlights, Shaw formed his six-piece combo, the Gramercy Five (named after a New York telephone exchange), which included Shaw on clarinet, Butterfield, trumpet; Johnny Guarnieri , harpsichord; Hendrickson, guitar; Jud DeNaut, bass; and Fatool, drums. This "first" Gramercy Five group cut eight exciting sides during its short-lived existence: Special Delivery Stomp, Summit Ridge Drive (named for the street Shaw live on in Hollywood), Keepin' Myself For You and Cross Your Heart (all on Sept. 3, 1940); and Dr. Livingstone, I Presume?, When The Quail Come Back To San Quentin, My Blue Heaven and Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (all on Dec. 5, 1940).

While this current band of Shaw's drew critical acclaim, Shaw himself grew restless. Shortly after the start of 1941, he disbanded. In the fall of that year he organized another group with alumni from his other bands: saxophonists Auld and Robinson; trumpeters Castle and Max Kaminsky; trombonists Jenny and Conniff, pianist Guarnieri; and a host of other brilliant musicians such as drummer Dave Tough and trumpeter/vocalist Oran "Hot Lips" page, whose vocals on Take Your Shoes Off, Baby (Oct. 30, 1941) and St. James Infirmary (Nov. 12,1941), were high spots of Shaw's recordings during this period.

Soon after America's entry into World War II, Shaw enlisted in the Navy. He was given permission to lead a Navy band that included many outstanding musicians, some alumni of Shaw's civilian groups, including trumpeters Best, Conrad Gozzo, Kaminsky and Frank Beach; saxophonist Sam Donahue; drummer Tough; and Claude Thornhill on piano also doing some arrangements.

As a morale-boosting outfit, Shaw's Navy band toured Pacific combat zones and played for troops in the jungles, airplane hangars, and on decks of ships. Shaw was medically discharged two years later in 1944 due to exhaustion. 

Upon his return to civilian life and after regaining his health, Shaw organized another band in the fall of 1944 - a seventeen-piecer without strings which featured stars like Roy Eldridge on trumpet; Ray Conniff on trombone (an arrangement duties); Dodo Marmarosa on piano; and Barney Kessel on guitar.

This 1944-45 band cut some exciting sides for RCA Victor including S' Wonderful (arranged by Conniff) and Bedford Drive (both on Sept. 1, 1945), Lucky Number (June 14, 1945), The Maid With The Flaccid Air (July 19, 1945), and Dancing On The Ceiling (July 24, 1945).

A second reincarnation of The Gramercy Five was formed with Eldridge, Marmarosa, Kessel, bassist Morris Rayman, and drummer Lou Fromm. The group cut six sides including The Grabtown Grapple, The Sad Sack and Scuttlebutt (all on Jan. 9, 1945) and The Gentle Grifter, Mysterioso and Hop, Skip And Jump (all on July 31, 1945).

From the fall of 1945 to 1947, Shaw switched record companies and signed with a new label called Musicraft Records, producing some of the best big band tracks of his career. Recording with strings, Shaw waxed two big jump tunes: The Hornet and The Glider (both September 1945); an outstanding vocal version of My Heart Belongs To Daddy (June 13, 1946) sung by Kitty Kallen; and some brilliant singing by a young Mel Torme and his Mel-Tones on two Cole Porter tunes: What Is This Thing Called Love? (June 19, 1946) and Get Out Of Town (June 25, 1946), among others.

Before retiring from music in 1954, Shaw organized several other big bands, including a very good but short-lived 1949 bop-oriented jazz band, still another reincarnation of his Gramercy Five, and a symphony orchestra, appeared at Carnegie Hall, and wrote his autobiography, The Trouble With Cinderella: An Outline Of Identity (1952). He's also written two fictional works: I Love You, I Hate, Drop Dead: Variations On A Theme (1965) and The Best Of Intentions And Other Stories (1989).

The mercurial Shaw struggled with both an attraction and an aversion to fame. He hated publicity. Nevertheless, he was a notorious ladies' man, and among his eight wives were glamour figures Lana Turner (wife No. 3, 1940), Ava Gardner (No. 5, 1945), Doris Dowling (No.7) and Evelyn Keyes (No. 8, 1957). Shaw was also married to Betty Kern (No. 4, 1942), daughter of composer Jerome Kern (producing a son, Steven), and Kathleen Winsor (No.6, 1946), who wrote the best selling historical novel, Forever Amber. Shaw also had another son, Jonathon.

Shaw achieved enormous success, then walked away from it over and over again, always returning for another round. In the early 1980s, Shaw produced a critically acclaimed documentary, Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got.  He received many awards and honors, among them a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (Shaw's recordings of Begin The Beguine, Stardust, Frenesi, and Any Old Time are in the Grammy Hall of Fame), and a Grammy nod in 2003 for writing the linear notes to the Bluebird Records five-CD set, Artie Shaw: Self Portrait.

Since 2004, the Selmer clarinet Shaw played on his classic 1938 recording of Begin The Beguine has been preserved in the National Museum of American History, a gift made when Shaw was honored with the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal for his lifetime achievement and contributions to American culture and music. Prior to his death, Shaw was revising the novel which he'd worked on for three decades, the story of a jazz musician named Albie Snow.

A native Bostonian born in 1925, Johnson began his musical odyssey at age 5 studying the piano with his mother who was a piano teacher with a Master's degree from the New England Conservatory of Music. The relationship between Johnson and the piano didn't last long. 

"I just hated the piano," Johnson confessed.

At age 7, he switched to the clarinet, and later to the alto saxophone.

Johnson became interested in jazz at age 15 in 1941, and loved all the swing bands of the period. As a young clarinetist, he was especially attracted to the two master clarinet-playing bandleaders of the day:  Shaw and Benny Goodman.

"I idolized both men," Johnson said. "The comparisons between Benny and Artie have gone on for years. There really is no comparison. They are apples and oranges. Artie played his way, so did Benny. As jazz players, Benny and Artie were head and shoulders above everyone."

But Johnson's ear (and heart) leaned more toward Shaw's lyrical style of playing after hearing the "King of the Clarinet's" knock out recording of Concerto For Clarinet (recorded Dec. 17, 1940).

"I leaned more toward Artie's playing because he lunged ahead of everybody," Johnson said. "He was always trying to do something new. His playing was new. Many of the jazz greats have told me that Artie was the one they listened to. They got some of their licks from him."

Despite the numerous and different-sounding bands Shaw had, Johnson appreciated each and every one. he said.

"I love them all!" he said enthusiastically. "The first band got everyone, including me, forging ahead. Artie's second band with the strings recorded some of his biggest hits. I'd have to say that Artie's string bands really got to me. The Musicraft recordings he did with Mel Torme and the Mel-Tones, to me, those are perfection. The arrangements were beautiful. Artie's solos are beautiful. The Musicraft recordings were Artie's favorites, too. That band was unbelievable! Artie just kept lunging forward. It was the way music was going. Whereas, Benny (Goodman) still played unbelievable, but he stayed in the same groove, to some degree."

With the world at war, 18-year-old Johnson entered the Navy in 1944. He didn't begin to study music seriously until aboard ship. During his tenure in the Navy, he practiced the clarinet and alto sax as much as four hours a day.

"There were great musicians on the ship," Johnson said.

After his discharge in 1946, Johnson returned to his native Boston and studied clarinet for 18 months with Norman Carrel of the Boston Symphony. He also gigged around the New England area until 1952 when he joined trumpeter Charlie Spivak's band.

In 1955, Johnson went with trombonist Buddy Morrow for a three-year stint. It was during his time with Morrow's band that Johnson was able to cut his first jazz albums under his own name:  Music For Swinging Moderns (1956 - Mercury Records); Most Likely (1957 - Riverside Records) with pianist Dave McKenna, bassist Wilbur Ware, and drummer Philly Joe Jones, who recorded a number of albums  with tenor saxophonist John Coltrane; and a live performance album at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival for producer George Wein.

In 1958, Johnson returned to the Boston area and hooked up with Herb Pomeroy's band, a territorial outfit, and taught part-time at the Berklee School of Music. Johnson also did short stints playing alto sax with Benny Goodman from 1959 to 1960. (Johnson was later praised by Goodman in a New York City article.)

In the early 1960s, Johnson teamed up with childhood friend and trumpeter Lou Colombo to perform and record. Johnson and Colombo have recently released a new CD together called Artie's Choice! And  The Naturals, featuring guitarist Gray Sargent. (See Dick Johnson and Lou Colombo Artie's Choice CD) Johnson continued to record in the 1970s with Colombo and McKenna as well as Tony DeFazio, Sonny Cain and Lou Santos. He also formed his own small band, "Swing Shift," and was signed to a recording contract with Concord Records.

In 1980, Johnson recorded with Woody Herman at the Concord Jazz Festival in Concord, CA. The swinging performance was released on the Concord Jazz label as Woody Herman Presents A Concord Jam. Playing alto sax on that date, Johnson is also joined by tenor saxophonist Scott Hamilton, pianist McKenna, vibraphonist Cal Tjader, cornetist Warren Vache, guitarist Cal Collins, and drummer Jack Hanna.

That same year, Johnson received a very complimentary note from Shaw concerning his clarinet playing. That missive would be the start of a friendship between Johnson and the legendary clarinet-playing bandleader that would last for almost 25 years.

"My manager, Bill Curtis, met Artie in 1944 in Kingman, AZ, after Artie returned to the States from his tour of duty in the Pacific," Johnson said. "Bill said to me that he would try to get a hold of Artie to see if he would write a blurb on my next album. Bill made contact with Artie and Artie agreed to listen to my album. A few weeks later, Artie sent a letter to Bill expressing his pleasure with my playing."

Shaw not only praised Johnson's playing, he elevated it to legendary stature. In that letter to Curtis dated Dec. 18, 1980, Shaw wrote: "You wanted to hear what I think of Dick Johnson's playing. Okay. As of this time, he's the best I've ever heard. Bar none. And you can quote me on that, anywhere, anytime!"

"When I read that letter, I almost passed out!" Johnson quipped. "Here was my idol saying I was the best. I never expected he would ever say that about anyone, let alone me."

In 1983, Shaw was ready to have his "new" aggregation go on the road, tapping the 57-year-old Johnson to front it, while giving him complete artistic control, Johnson said.

"I had all of Artie's arrangements from his recordings so I was very familiar with his music before he even asked me to lead his band," Johnson said. "I had them all down. I was even able to play Stardust, which is probably one of the hardest things for a clarinetist to play."

The Artie Shaw Orchestra under the direction of Dick Johnson.

During the first few months of the band's genesis, Shaw himself would appear with the band in concert as conductor and story-teller. Even though Johnson was confident in his own musical abilities to play Shaw's music and to lead his band, he admittedly was initially nervous knowing that his idol and mentor was around, he said.

"I remember when we first started out, Artie was rehearsing the band daily for about a week at the Hilton Hotel in Boston and I got off my playing a few times," Johnson said. "Artie knew I was scared. Afterwards, he put his arm around my shoulder and said that I played some great stuff and that he loved the way I play alto sax. It was his way of easing me."

Shaw's comforting gesture toward his new musical director worked, but there were times when Shaw's presence also brought a bit of "grounding" concerning Johnson's artistic bravado.

"The main thing is Artie liked the way I played, yet he could cut me down when needed, but he always did it in a nice way," Johnson said. 

One such "cutting" incident occurred when the orchestra was playing on a cruise ship from the United States to Spain. Shaw accompanied the band and rehearsed it a few times during the sojourn across the Atlantic Ocean. The first night the band played, Shaw was sitting in the audience, and Johnson, wanting to impress his boss, began showing off a bit as to what he could do musically on the clarinet.

"Afterwards, I went over to Artie's table and he told me that I played great," Johnson recalled. "But Artie also said to that the reason why I was showing off my chops was because he was in the audience. He assured me that he knew I had the chops. He was smiling when he said those things. It wasn't a bad put down, but my heart sunk a little bit. He said, 'When you need to do something like that, fine. But don't keep it going too long. Get the 'meat' out of a tune and get more lyrical.' The next night I got as lyrical as you could get! (laughing) Artie told me later that I had the idea and that I was now playing music. Artie was always my teacher but he did it in a nice way. He was always great with the band and he never raised his voice to me other than talking about someone else. He told me, 'The way you play, you should be out there with your own jazz group.'"

In spite of the well-meaning advice that Shaw passed on to Johnson, the two musicians got along very well together, and would often appreciate the playful humor each one had to offer.

"There were some things I played exactly like Artie did because that's what the people wanted to hear," Johnson said. "Artie told me to do what I wanted so that I wouldn't have to be him all the time. We were playing at the Blue Note in New York City in 1984. We played Rose Room. Artie had a certain lick in the piece that I liked to play. Artie happened to beat the time off really fast. When it came to that part in the song where that certain lick was, Artie started grinning at me. I don't know how I did it, but I managed to play that lick. Artie apologized to me later saying he wasn't really thinking about the tempo because he figured I would do my own thing. That same night we played Concert For Clarinet. The last note goes up to a high C. When I went to whack out that high C, it came out a triple F. Artie started laughing. He said to me, 'Let me see your clarinet.' I then corrected myself saying, 'Sorry, folks.' And then I hit the C."

Shaw's jocularity was also demonstrated toward other musicians. When much ado was made of  the rivalry between Shaw and Goodman, both clarinet giants took the competition in good graces and with a sense of humor, Johnson said.

"Whenever the situation would arise, Artie always had little 'zings' to say to Benny," Johnson said. "They were playful comments. Artie had nothing bad to say."

Shaw was a perfectionist and the music in his band library reflected the musical excellence he always strived for. With a band library that's "huge," and with 50 of those tunes from the library played regularly, the Shaw charts provide some challenge to band personnel, according to Johnson.

"For a good musician, some are, and some that are not hard," Johnson said. "Any guy coming in has his work cut out for him. If he's a good musician, he starts to relax."

While many big bands these days utilize regional players to fill its ranks when performing in certain geographic areas of the United States, the fifteen-piece Artie Shaw Orchestra with its four trumpets, five saxophones, three trombones, piano, bass and drums, is a road band. They perform together and they travel together.

"On the whole, our band is a relatively young band with the bulk of its musicians ranging in age from their  late 20s to the 40s," Johnson said. "We have some who went to Berklee, a lot come from New York. Two of our saxophonists and our manager are in their seventies."

Dick Johnson, left, leading the Artie Shaw Orchestra.

For years, the Shaw Orchestra utilized guitarist Joe Cohn, son of tenor sax giant and arranger Al Cohn and his wife, band singer Mary Ann McCall. However, when Cohn left, Shaw never used another guitarist.

"Joe was that good," Johnson said.

However, if and when the time comes for the Shaw Orchestra to record, Johnson says he plans on using his son-in-law, Gray Sargent, to fill the guitar void. Sargent currently performs with crooner Tony Bennett as a member of the songster's dynamic rhythm quartet.

Early on, the new Shaw band was averaging 35 weeks on the road. That's a good amount of time, by anyone's standards. But for the past few years, the band has cut its playing time to about 20 weeks a year. That sits very well with Johnson, he said.

"It's good for me because I have other things going on," he said.

With the amount of traveling and playing many of the same tunes over and over again, it become difficult at times to interpretive playing fresh.

"I change the tunes so I keep the guys in the band and myself interested," Johnson said. "Some bands go out and play the exact thing every night. That would drive me nuts. There is plenty of stuff in our book that we love to play."

In addition to playing all Shaw signature tunes, the band also steps "outside the box" on occasion and plays charts associated with other bandleaders such as Goodman, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and the Dorsey's  -  Tommy and Jimmy both.

"These guys were the biggies and we play their themes and one of their big hit tunes," Johnson said. "It takes a short time to do in our presentation and the audience loves it."

Over the years, Shaw was quite proud of his new orchestra and of its musical director, according to Johnson.

"Anytime we needed new mics or stands, Artie paid for it himself," Johnson said. "He was very fair. He got ten percent of the band's gross and he paid me very, very well. It's always been more than I've ever made with any band. If the band wasn't making it, Artie would have stopped the band within the first couple of years."

With Shaw's death, ownership of the band was not passed on to his two sons, but rather to Shaw's long-time friend and attorney, Eddie Ezor, Johnson said.

"Eddie approached Artie on this before he died and Artie told Eddie that the band goes on just the same," Johnson said. "Artie and Eddie never signed a contract. They've known each other for years, and it was sealed with a handshake."

Prior to Shaw's passing, the band's focus was just performing the timeless music of Artie Shaw. Since his passing, it has become a mission to keep the clarinet giant's music alive. While seniors remain receptive to the music, a newer generation of listeners are not, Johnson intimated.

"I think it got to that point of being a mission," Johnson said. "We all thought it was going to be bigger than it was, but it really wasn't. The people who come to hear us are getting older. We've been booked at high schools but our audience is mostly seniors. Our music goes over like wildfire, but there are very few young people interested in it."

As the band forges on, so does Johnson. But for how long? As seniors get older and pass on, audience support for Shaw's music performed live may also fade quicker than anticipated. As Johnson himself advances in age, and with no immediate clarinet-playing successor in mind, how will the Shaw legacy survive?

"I don't know of any younger guys coming up," Johnson said. "I'm sure there are plenty who can play the hell out of the clarinet, but nobody has been mentioned. There are guys out there who can play, but you just don't hear of them because nobody hires them to make a mess of records. I'm sure if something were to happen to me there would be somebody out there who can do it."

With the clarinet as a dying instrument in jazz groups and big bands, only a handful of noted players on the scene today are keeping the instrument in the musical forefront. Elder statesman Buddy DeFranco is one. DeFranco remains active performing and recording with his own group as well as heading a musical festival named after him at the University of Montana. It was DeFranco who took Johnson's place during the band's tour to Brazil a few years ago when Johnson was too ill to make the trek. 

Ken Peplowski, Eddie Daniels and contemporary jazzman Don Byron are other clarinet notables. Would they be interested in Johnson's job? Probably not.

While Johnson's virtuosity as a clarinetist is peerless, his contribution toward the instrument it will most likely be judged within the context of his musical association with Shaw.

"It's a thrill to play for seniors and for the musicians who are big on Artie Shaw," Johnson said. "It's about pleasing them and pleasing myself from an era that we went through. People would come back stage crying or we'd get standing ovations for things done well. People often times will come up to me and say that I play way better than Artie. I tell them, 'Wait a minute. Stop right there. When Artie did this, he did it over 65 years ago and I don't play better than he. Nobody will ever play better than he did. He was one of a kind."

To celebrate his musical uniqueness, Shaw was invited to attend the 32nd Annual International Association of Jazz Educator's International Conference on January 7 in Long Beach, CA, as a guest panelist and to be the recipient of the National Endowment Masters Award presented on behalf of President George W. Bush and Mrs. Bush. Shaw never received the honor. He died a week prior to the conference. 

Johnson attended the IAJE conference to accept the award for Shaw. The following is the text of Johnson's speech. In his remarks, Johnson stated that Shaw should be more readily recognized for his contribution in the history of jazz as being the link between swing and bebop.

First off, I know that Artie Shaw would thank you implicitly for the National Endowment Masters Award and no one could be any prouder than me for being chosen to accept it for him. I am deeply honored and will never forget these moments.

I wrote the following article a few months ago to send to the various jazz tabloids. I called it "Artie Shaw: A Major Link In B-Flat And Thanks For The Legacy." I would like to take a moment and read it to you now.

Artie Shaw was arguably the greatest clarinetist ever. Granted, he was much heralded for his playing, for his bands and for his recordings. However, he was never seriously referred to as one of the major link tying the Swing Era to the BeBop Era.

Early proof of this is his 1938 band with its thousands of radio remotes from New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc. Artie's playing was very obviously years ahead of his peers. One might call me opinionated, and I am!

There happens to be many stalwarts of jazz that think as I do. So I guess you might call them opinionated, as well. The following is a partial list of jazz giants that I am referring to. I have also made it a point to have had personal conversations about this with most of them: Cannonball Adderly, Ray Charles, Al Cohn, Rolf Kuhn, Buddy DeFranco, Paquito D'Rivera, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Pepper, Charlie parker, Lee Konitz, Buddy Rich, Zoot Sims, Herbie Steward, Mel Torme, Phil Woods, and Lester Young.

In 1940, when Artie added strings, he was put down by Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller. But when the strings proved "acceptable," Dorsey had strings for Frank Sinatra. Harry James had them for Helen Forrest, Glenn Miller had them in the Army-Air Force Band. Even Gene Krupa had them for a short time. 

Artie's biggest-selling records had strings: Stardust, Moonglow, Dancing In The Dark, St. James Infirmary, Concert For Clarinet. Every one of those tunes had unsurpassable clarinet solos.

Speaking of Stardust... I get many requests for a copy of Artie's chorus to which, I comply. If one can play it, bully for him! When the string band ended, Artie went back to using seven brass, five saxes and four rhythm and another great band evolved.

When World War II came along and Artie enlisted in the Navy, he brought the band out to the hectic Pacific Islands war zones. In his Navy band at the time were Conrad Gozzo, Dale Pierce, Max Kaminsky, and Frank Beach, trumpets; Sam Donahue, tenor sax;  Tak Takvorian and Dick LeFave, trombone; and Davey Tough, drums.

After two years, Artie was medically discharged from the Navy and came back to the States and put another great band together featuring Roy Eldridge on trumpet. Artie made some beautiful jazz records then such as S' Wonderful, The Glider, The Hornet, Let's Walk, and Little Jazz, featuring Eldridge.

Artie's bands just kept growing musically and harmonically. Artie's last big band was the 1949-1950 bebop band. 

With this band, Artie recorded a blues tune called Invendo by Johnny Mandel. He made two takes of the bright blues piece in concert. He took four choruses on each take. Try to find those recordings and you will hear the best bebop jazz clarinet playing of all time! Musicians flipped over this band but the masses were screaming for Begin The Beguine. Artie then threw in the towel and his big band career.

Artie then went to play with an updated Gramercy Five with guitarist Tal Farlow and pianist Hank Jones, plus vibes, bass and drums until 1954. He also did some studio standards with a large orchestra. Mel Torme and his Mel-Tones were featured on some of Artie's Musicraft recordings. Great records!

Artie then delved into some very difficult classical records and stopped playing altogether. Everyone said, "How could you, Artie?" Artie had his reasons.

The following is a list is my version of the great trail blazers of jazz who had just a little more to say than most up to the time of John Coltrane: Louis Armstrong, Art Tatum, Coleman Hawkins, Artie Shaw, Lester Young, Nat "King" Cole, Charlie Christian Roy Eldridge, Buddy Rich, Don Byas, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Fats Navarro, Sonny Stitt, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, James Moody, Bill Evans, Jimmy Knepper, Scott LaFaro and John Coltrane.

Ray Charles once wrote in an article that "along with Art Tatum, Nat "King" Cole, and Charles Brown, Artie Shaw was one of my favorite soloists. On any given night, Artie Shaw was the greatest clarinet player in the world."

Jazz history should have named Artie as the link between Swing and BeBop. There is a galaxy of recorded jazz clarinet by Artie. Seek them out and you'll never hear clarinet playing like that again! Artie made sure of that!

Thank you so very much for listening, folks! And thank you, Artie Shaw, for the boundless legacy of jazz clarinet. I hope you are accepting this honor where ever you are. So long, Artie!

Two days later, Johnson, accompanied by his wife, Rose, and manager, Bill Curtis, attended Shaw's closed-casket funeral at Chapel of the Oaks in Westlake Village, CA, a short distance away from Shaw's home in Newbury Park. The funeral was by invitation only. Guests included piano great Marion McPartland and comedian Red Buttons who told of their personal stories about the late clarinet legend.

At the conclusion of the eulogies, Johnson played one full chorus of solo clarinet on I'll Be Seeing You, segueing into three full choruses of traditional blues, before segueing back to the last half of I'll Be Seeing You, according to Johnson.

"I'm sure Artie would have been pleased with his private tribute," Johnson said. "I know I felt on top of the world to have been chosen to do these finishing touches in celebration of Artie's life."

Shaw is interred at Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village.

Like all musical legends who have passed on, the topic concerning their legacy will always be the subject of vigorous discussion. And Artie Shaw's legacy is no exception. From Johnson's point of view, Shaw's lasting musical legacy is that of what he spoke of at the IAJE conference:  the link from the Swing Era into the BeBop Era.

"When Artie played jazz on things like The Glider or The Hornet, he was playing with musicians who were starting to play with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and those guys," Johnson said. "If you listen to Artie, he was already doing it (early bop ideas). It was just his way of playing. For me, he was arguably the greatest jazz clarinetist of all time. I say arguably because guys like Benny Goodman were, in their own way, just as good. For my cup of tea, Artie was the best. He put the jazz clarinet way ahead of its time for guys like Buddy DeFranco, Eddie Daniels, Ken Peplowski and Abe Most. All these guys are all/were great players. Artie was a trailer blazer of jazz."

*****

*** The Artie Shaw Orchestra under the direction of Dick Johnson, is scheduled to perform at the Paradise Performing Arts Center, 777 Nunneley Road, Paradise, CA, on Friday, April 1, 2005, at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices are $25 for all seats. For ticket information, call the PPAC at (530) 872-8454.  ***