James Louis J.J. Johnson was born on January 22, 1924 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He began piano lessons at the age of 9 and took up trombone at 14. One of the earliest trombonists to embrace be-bop, Johnson demonstrated that the rapid tempos and technical requirements of the genre were within the grasp of an instrument without keys or valves. Dizzy Gillespie once said to Johnson “I've always known that the trombone could be played different, that somebody'd catch on one of these days. Man, you're elected."

J.J. Johnson first played professionally at the age of 17 in a band led by Clarence Love. Later he played with Snookum Russell before being hired for the trombone section in Benny Carter’s big band in 1942. Johnson made his first recordings with that group and was also a participant at the very first Jazz at the Philharmonic concert in Los Angeles in 1944. Beginning in 1945 he began a one-year stint in the Count Basie Orchestra.

Johnson left Basie’s group in 1946 and moved to New York City where he played in bebop combos and sometimes led groups with musicians such as Sonny Stitt, Bud Powell and Max Roach. In 1947 he toured with saxophonist Illinois Jacquet. In December 1947 he recorded with Charlie Parker. By the early 1950s he was recording as a leader on the Blue Note label and also made some records with Miles Davis.

In the mid-1950s J.J. Johnson began a successful partnership with fellow trombonist Kai Winding. “Jay and Kai” toured extensively and recorded several commercially successful albums during the period, and also reunited on occasion in the 1960s and 1980s after their group broke up in 1956. Following that Johnson led small touring groups for several years but did not make a record as a leader after 1964 for more than a decade.

Johnson moved to California and began working seriously as an arranger for other musicians, as well as writing for movie and television soundtracks. While in the Los Angeles area he played in the Cocoanut Grove Orchestra and in the orchestra for the Carol Burnett television variety program. He returned to touring with his own groups in 1987 but soon left the road after his wife suffered a severe stroke. After her passing he again toured with a combo beginning in 1992 and produced five albums as a leader while also working extensively with fellow trombonist Steve Turre and vocalist Abbey Lincoln. He retired from active touring in 1996 and moved back to his hometown of Indianapolis.

Although Johnson was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2000, he still wrote a trombone technique book and was the subject of a biography that year. Johnson took his own life in February of 2001.
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Here is a link to a 1991 performance by J.J. Johnson and his quartet:

"BLUE BOSSA"