A compilation of modern, original compositions written by Dr. Tom Johnson over a period of 40 years and now performed by a full jazz orchestra.
Available from Bandcamp
Brianna Martinez – Flute & Piccolo; Noam Niv – Flute & Piccolo; Ana Nelson – Clarinet;
Garrett Fasig – Soprano & Alto Sax; Kyle Brooks – Alto Sax; Chance Davis – Tenor Sax
Andrew Kreitner – Tenor Sax; Joseph Trahan – Baritone Sax; Clark Hunt – Lead Trumpet;
Jack Kurtz – Trumpet and Flugelhorn; Nick Recktenwald – Trumpet and Flugelhorn; Sam Butler – Trumpet; Andrew Danforth – Lead Trombone; Marcel Penzes – Trombone; Leah Warman – Trombone; Matt Acosta – Bass Trombone; Joel Tucker – Guitars, Guitar Synth
Alex Wignall – Piano, Electric Piano; Brendan Keller-Tuberg – Electric and Acoustic Bass; Francis Bassett-Dilley – Drums
Additional Performers
Michael Stricklin – Flute Solo on “Bossa Monday Suite”; Jake Buckner – French Horn on “One More Time”; Tom Johnson – Yamaha S-80, Moog Voyager, Valve Trombone,
Samba Whistle, Tambourine; Michael Johnson – Yamaha S-80 on “Book One” and “Simply Stuff and Nonsense”; Joe Galvin – Congas & Percussion
Naught Won (8:40) / Simple Song (8:25)/ 80’s Suite: Book One (6:38)/ 80’s Suite: One More Time (4:32) / 80’s Suite: Lucky 13 (8:51) / En La Casa de Los Perritos (9:51) / Well You Better (4:09) / Ballad for the A1 Band (5:32) / Cats and Mouses (6:06) / Bossa Monday Suite (11:29) / Simply Stuff and Nonsense (3:58)
The USA is a big place so it’s unlikely many people outside the Indiana area will have heard of Tom Johnson or the top musicians from there who feature on Johnson’s first album, Time Takes Odd Turns. So I’ll pass on verbatim some of the background info that came with the review CD. It makes a nice example of pursuing a dream.
‘After a long career as a psychologist, full-time professor, and part-time musician, trumpet player, pianist, and composer Dr. Tom Johnson is finally releasing his debut album.
‘As the name of the album suggests, Johnson’s life has taken some unexpected turns. Raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, he grew up listening to his father, a trumpet player, perform with several big bands that toured with many top names in the music world. Johnson began studying trumpet in fifth grade and composition in high school, but his father, a child of the Depression and experienced with the vicissitudes of being a freelance musician, strongly encouraged his son to get a day gig. So, heeding his father’s advice, Johnson decided to pursue his interest in psychology and went on to earn an undergraduate degree with honors in psychology from Indiana University, where he also studied jazz arranging and composition with Dominic Spera. His idea was to work as a psychologist part-time while still pursuing his music career.
‘After graduating from IU, Johnson studied composition at the University of Wisconsin with Joel Naumann, taught music, performed professionally, and wrote background music for radio PSAs. He returned to graduate work in clinical psychology and received his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri. His teaching position at Indiana State University turned into a full professorship, but he continued studying music and completed a Certificate in Jazz Arranging and Composition via the Berklee School of Music Online.
‘Although he continued to study music and even play an occasional gig, Johnson spent most of the 1990s working as a professor, publishing more than 30 articles and book chapters in psychology. However, as Johnson says, “I really enjoyed my academic work, but my true love has always been music, so in 2019, I began studying jazz arranging and composition privately with Brent Wallarab, the David N. Baker Associate Professor of Jazz Studies at Indiana University.” In 2022, Johnson began classes in the Master of Music Composition program at Butler University and retired from teaching in January 2023.
‘In May 2023, Johnson and a band comprising IU students and graduates, as well as members of the Indianapolis jazz scene, went into the studio to record Time Takes Odd Turns. Johnson’s charts are very modern and complex. …Many of the performers have experience playing in top Indiana based bands.
‘Johnson has recently retired from his professorial duties and can finally turn his attention full-time to his music. Although many of Johnson’s compositions and arrangements started as experiments or school assignments, he has turned them into first rate orchestral music that is sophisticated, hip, and fun.’
A quick Internet search adds that Johnson “had the privilege of being able to teach in Indiana State University’s summer program in London on “Sex, Drugs, and Rock & roll: Drug Cultures in the US and the UK.”
So what about the music? The clue is in the title, Time Takes Odd Turns. If you like your music with a steady beat only a few tracks on this album are likely to appeal. But a lot of people obviously like jazz with irregular repetitive rhythms and odd time signatures. They made Dave Brubeck super rich and famous.
Listening to this CD kept reminding me of the Buddy Rich big bands. In-your-face walls of sound, often at fast tempos, with a mix of high register and low pedalling electric bass, mournful alto sax, tortured trumpet, shouty trombone and loosely-Latin or quasi-majestic ensemble work with an all-round busy sound from young musicians fresh out of academy and busting gut to get through each tune together and tight. I must admit I only went to see Buddy’s band to see Buddy. And of course, there is no Buddy now (although no shortage of would-be Buddy’s hammering at his charts).
This is in no way intended to belittle the drummer here, Francis Bassett-Dilley, who is a fine player, albeit recorded with a more tight and tubby sound than I personally prefer. In fact the whole band, listed above, may be short on ‘big names’ but it is long on musical talent. I particularly enjoyed the piano solos from Alex Wignall, especially when he is playing a ‘real’ piano.
I felt more at home with ‘Well You Better’ and some almost old-fashioned 4/4 big band loping; also, the easy-sounding ‘Ballad for the A1 Band”. It’s like Johnson is assuring “yes I can do that stuff, too”.
As per the background information offered that some of the compositions and arrangements started as experiments, I’d say that some of the finished tracks still sound a bit experimental, especially a couple at the end “Cats and Mouses’ and ‘Simply Stuff and Nonsense’. I really am not sure what they are about, other to test musical ability and fill the disc.
I realise this review may sound a little lukewarm. So now is a good time to remind of what I have previously suggested as the modern equivalent of trying music in the listening booths of record shops (RIP). Exploit Spotify. Use a free subscription to listen to a few tracks (albeit encumbered by some adverts) and then if you like what you hear, buy the CD. I’ve checked and this album is there on Spotify to hear.
