Justifiably J.J.: A Centennial Tribute – Live in Indianapolis

Critically acclaimed trombonist, John Fedchock, celebrates JJ Johnson’s 100th birthdate with down-home soul in a big way  – caught LIVE in Indianapolis!

The year 2024 was a special one for JJ Johnson fans, and justifiably so. It marked the trombone legend’s 100th birthdate – This is a celebration of this significant centennial from the critically acclaimed, supremely talented trombonist, John Fedchock and a ‘cream of the crop’ talent lineup!

with
John Fedchock – trombone
Steve Allee – piano
Jeremy Allen – bass
Sean Dobbins – drums

Recorded Live on March 3, 2024 at The Jazz Kitchen, Indianapolis, IN.

A select number of musicians throughout history have left indelible marks, taking the music to new heights on their instruments. JJ Johnson was one of those very special artists. He was the first to adapt the complexities of bebop to the trombone, and every subsequent style on the instrument has been shaped upon the building blocks he diligently constructed.

When the opportunity arose to celebrate JJ’s life and music in Indianapolis, Indiana, the place his life both began and ended, and to do it in the city’s acclaimed jazz club, The Jazz Kitchen, Fedchock just couldn’t pass it up. Indy has produced a storied lineage of jazz icons, so he decided to enlist some of the top players in the area to insure an authentic hometown celebration. He was lucky enough to get the cream of the crop in pianist Steve Allee, bassist Jeremy Allen, and drummer Sean Dobbins.

When the club’s sound engineer asked Fedchock if he wanted him to record the group live from the mixing board, he assumed it was simply to document the night, but he actually created a full multi-track recording. So when the band hit the stage, none of us really considered the potential of this “keepsake”. It was never a distraction, and everyone completely let loose from beginning to end. That unbridled energy is strikingly apparent throughout this recording.

Fedchock’s goal was to not only celebrate JJ the player, but also JJ the composer. His writing credits are widely renowned, so he wanted to showcase compositions from his albums that have always resonated with him.

REVIEW:

It’s the centenary of legendary trombonist J.J. Johnson’s birth, and the tributes just keep coming — as they should. Johnson was not just a great trombonist and composer; he was also a pioneering virtuoso who proved that despite his instrument’s somewhat ungainly design, it was entirely possible for the trombone to negotiate the tricky melodic passages and quicksilver tempos of bebop — you just had to be really, really good. John Fedchock is also really, really good, as he has demonstrated over the course of a four-decade career and eleven albums as a leader, and his Johnson tribute generates all of the excitement and warmth you’d expect. He chose to record it live, in Johnson’s hometown of Indianapolis, in front of an audibly appreciative crowd. The program consists almost entirely of Johnson compositions, of which highlights include the sweet and gentle “Short Cake” and a barn-burning rendition of “Ten 85.” It’s just Fedchock and a crack piano trio, and they sound amazing.

-Rick Anderson for CD Hotlist

REVIEW:

Critically acclaimed veteran trombonist John Fedchock found a fascinating way to cap 30 years as a solo recording artist – with Justifiably J.J., a powerful live tribute album to 20th Century trombone master J.J. Johnson, who is historically embraced as one of the earliest performers on his instrument to embrace bebop.

The cool part is, even if its release coincides with Johnson’s Centennial birthday, the show Fedchock performed at The Jazz Kitchen in Johnson’s hometown of Indianapolis with three contemporary jazz greats from that city was not originally planned to be a celebratory tribute album.

When he joined forces that night with Steve Allee (piano), Jeremy Allen (bass) and Sean Dobbins (drums), the club’s sound engineer asked Fedchock if he would like him to record the show live from the mixing board. To the trombonist’s surprise, the engineer created a high quality, multi-track recording of the alternately barn-burning and soulful, sensitive and sensual renditions of Johnson classics traversing the legend’s career from 1956 through 1998, bookended with the brisk, fiery, hard swinging and improvisation driven “Naptown U.S.A.” (from Johnson’s J is For Jazz) and “Ten 85” (from his last album, Heroes).

The wild ride includes six songs from different eras of Johnson’s career, including the breezy and melodic, easy flowing “Short Cake” (whose dominant key is only revealed in the final measures), the high-spirited, fast grooving “Lullaby of Jazzland” (composed in Johnson’s signature style by Manny Albam) and a wildly exotic, heavily percussive romp into Afro-Cuban territory on “Kenya.” Fedchock and the quartet slow the snappy pace for a faithful reading of Johnson’s favorite composition, the haunting “Lament.”

Johnson’s an important figure in jazz history because while the trombone was very popular as a Dixieland and swing instrument, it wasn’t catching on as a lead bebop instrument until he adapted its complexities to the horn. Fedchock may not have started out to pay homage, but we should be grateful that this live expression of power, passion and love came about.

-Jonathan Widran for JW Vibe

REVIEW:

On his new album, John Fedchock showcases Johnson’s fat tone and pushy attack; Allee is spectacular on piano, gliding around effortlessly; Allen’s bass is big and pronounced in the ensemble and on solos; and Dobbins’ drums are crisp and alive. A beautiful tribute from start to finish of a singular soloist. Kudos to John for celebrating J.J. in his centenary year.

-Marc Myers for Jazz Wax

REVIEW:

2024 is the centennial year of the legendary trombonist JJ Johnson.  When John Fedchock, one of the current greats on that instrument was asked to perform a tribute to Johnson at The Jazz Kitchen in Indianapolis, Johnson’s hometown, he was not doing so with the intent to create a tribute album.  With Fedchock’s permission, the sound engineer recorded the music.  When Fedchock heard the results, he was happy to have the material released.  The results can be heard on Justifiably J.J.: A Centennial Tribute/Live in Indianapolis (Summit – 828).  Joined by pianist Steve Allee, bassist Jeremy Allen and drummer Steve Dobbins, three of the best jazz cats in Indianapolis, they explore eight tunes, seven composed by Johnson, “Naptown U.S.A.,” “Short Cake,” “Kenya,” “Say When,” “Lament,” “Minor Mist” and “Ten 85,” plus Manny Albam’s “Lullaby of Jazzland.  Johnson was the first player to master the demands of bebop on the trombone, and he served as an inspiration for most jazz trombonists who followed him.  Fedchock is among the finest current practitioners on the instrument and demonstrates the kind of fluidity on the horn that few can match.  Justifiably J.J. reflects the inspiration of Johnson as both a musician and composer.  Well done, John Fedchock!

-Joe Lang for Jersey Jazz

REVIEW:

The International Trombone Journal praised John Fedchock as “a soloist, Fedchock’s playing is simply phenomenal.  Flawless technique, a melodic approach, and a warm, lush tone are trademarks of his improvisational style.”

 This tribute to the great J.J. Johnson showcases Fedchock’s mastery on the trombone, but also calls attention to the iconic compositions that J.J. Johnson gifted to the world.  The quartet opens with “Naptown U.S.A.” spotlighting Fedchock’s rapid delivery on the trombone.  J. J. Johnson composed it in 1956. On “Short Cake” Steve Allee on piano takes stage center during his improvised solo, until Fedchock takes the lead. This is John’s 11^th album release as a leader.  It is meant to celebrate J. J. Johnson’s centennial in 2024. Featuring eight swinging compositions by Johnson, or songs that were associated with J. J., Fedchock opted to perform the original Johnson arrangements in honor of the trombone legend.  The pretty ballad, “Lament” is another favorite of Fedchock’s and is perhaps J. J. Johnson’s most famous composition. This tune has been covered by many musicians, including Miles Davis.

 Jeremy Allen opens “Lullaby of Jazzland” on bass, skipping along at a swinging, rapid pace. Fedchock shows off what the trombone can do as a lead instrument. This is the only tune that Johnson did not compose, but he was known to play it during shows.

 When J. J. Johnson first came on the scene, few respected the trombone as an instrument that could play the speedy complexities of bebop music.  J. J. Johnson proved everyone wrong and re-introduced trombone into the jazz world at a featured instrument level.

 When Fedchock and his all-star group agreed to play J. J. Johnson’s music in his hometown, he wasn’t even thinking about recording a tribute album.  You can hear the ‘live’ audience applauding in appreciation throughout this recording.  When the concert engineer asked him if he wanted a copy of the show, he agreed, never expecting it to be such high-quality.

 Sean Dobbins opens the tune “Kenya” giving it a strong rhythmic feel during the percussive introduction, swooping into an Afro-Cuban arrangement. The band shines on the familiar jazz tune, “Say When” with the trombone flying through the notes …

 The high energy and audience support captured on this “Live” recording is exciting. John Fedchock offers a beautiful tribute to the music and memory of trombone master J. J. Johnson. It’s a tribute to the trombone, as well as the mastery of Fedchock himself.

 – Dee Dee McNeil for Making A Scene

REVIEW:

J.J. Johnson saved his instrument from possible obscurity. Rarely used as a front-line instrument pre-Johnson, the trombone might have faded away when bebop came along. Bebop—all those rapid-fire notes from trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and alto saxophonist Charlie Parker. At that time, the trombone was considered too cumbersome to navigate the chord changes and the rhythmic fury of the new music. J.J. Johnson proved otherwise, starting with several recording dates for Prestige and Savoy Records from 1946 to 1949.

Johnson went on to enjoy a successful career—standing out as a composer/arranger as well a player, culminating with the The Brass Orchestra (Verve, 1997) and Heroes (Verve, 1999).

So who better to nod to Johnson on the jazz master’s centennial year than John Fedchock. The New York-based trombonist was—as are virtually all players of the instrument—influenced by J.J. Johnson, so he decided to celebrate his hero’s legacy by playing a show featuring the master’s compositions, live in the Jazz Kitchen in Indianapolis, where Johnson was born and where he died. An album of the recording of the material was not in the original plan. But that changed—and now we have John Fedchock fronting a first-rate Indianapolis rhythm section on Justifiably J.J. .

Johnson excelled in any lineup configuration, large or small. But the quartet—horn in front of a rhythm section—was a lineup he explored often, with First Place and Blue Trombone, both released on Columbia Records in 1957, and Proof Positive, (Impulse, 1964). Justifiably J.J. borrows the cover design motif from Proof Positive, and also one of Johson’s tunes from the album, “Lullaby Of Jazzland.”

The “live show” aspect of Justifiably J.J., one in which there was no expectation of turning the tapes into an album, lends a relaxed, good time, go-for-it feel to the proceedings. Other turns from the Johnson songbook here are “Naptown U.S.A,” “Lament,” one of Johnson’s most familiar compositions, and “Ten 85,” borrowed from the Trombone Master’s last—and the best, of his small combo recordings—Heroes (Verve, 1999). It is fine way to wrap up a spirited nod to a legend.

-Dan McClenaghan for All About Jazz

REVIEW:

John Fedchock gives a tribute to the undisputed master of the trombone, JJ Johnson, giving inspired takes of some of his most famous compositions. Joined by Steve Allee/p, Jeremy Allen/b and Sean Dobbins/dr, Fedchock doesn’t imitate but salutes the pioneer with a couple of hip boppers like “Naptown USA” and “Ten 85”. A gorgeous read of the classic “Lament” glistens, while some exotic ideas are created over the earthy beat of Dobbins on the exotic read of “Kenya”. Dobbins’ brushes are nifty on the classy “Minor Mist” and Allee swings from the hips for “Say When”.Sliding safely into home.

-George  Harris for Jazz Weekly

REVIEW:

The accomplished trombonist John Fedchock has released Justifiably J.J., a heartfelt tribute to one of the most innovative figures in jazz, trombonist J.J. Johnson on the occasion of his centennial. Recorded live at The Jazz Kitchen, Indianapolis, Indiana, on March 3, 2024 (Johnson’s hometown), Fedchock was accompanied by three top players: pianist Steve Allee, bassist Jeremy Allen and drummer Sean Dobbins. The session features eight swinging compositions written by or associated with Johnson, but instead of attempting to reinvent or modernize Johnson’s compositions, Fedchock takes a more respectful approach by performing his original arrangements.

Fedchock ensures that his interpretations are imbued with his own mastery, beginning with the opening track, “Naptown U.S.A,” which was the nickname for Indianapolis rooted in the city’s jazz culture in the 1920s. The number is a contrafact based on the chord changes to “Back Home Again in Indiana.” From the opening bars, Fedchock’s command of his instrument is evident from the fluidity of his phrasing to the vibrant tone. The rhythm section validates: they are empathetic, thoughtful, and enlightened partners. The only non-Johnson original in the album is “Lullaby of Jazzland,” by Manny Albam. Allen’s free-flowing bass-playing anchors this joyful swinger, on which Fedchock, Allee and Dobbins build their svelte and gear-jumping solos.

A change of pace follows with “Kenya’s” Afro-Cuban feel. The number opens with a drum solo from Dobbins, in which he confirms his roguish, beefy sound. The rhythm section provides a solid, swinging foundation, leaving ample space for Fedchock to shine as he does on Johnson’s most recognizable composition, “Lament.” First released in 1955 by Johnson and Kai Winding on Savoy Records on the album Jay and Kai. Here, Fedchock, with his solid intonation and relaxed phrasing, covers the number with deep admiration for Johnson’s legacy.

The album’s final number is “Ten 85,” derived from Johnson’s house number in Indianapolis before his passing in 2001. This spirited chart pulls all the stands together, with Fedchock demonstrating his prowess with the trombone, supported by Allee’s complementary pianistic touch. At the same time, Allen’s bass provides the rhythmic pulse, and Dobbins’s drumming is dynamic and tasteful.

-Pierre Giroux for All About Jazz