Although
Dink Johnson could also play the clarinet and drums, he was best known for his piano playing -- at least during the final decades of his life -- and on
Mr. Johnson Signing Off, his role is that of a singing pianist. The main focus of this hour-long CD is recordings that the New Orleans native/Los Angeles transplant made for the Euphonic label around 1950, when he had about four years left to live. These spirited, good-natured performances often bring to mind
Fats Waller, another singing pianist who was known for his healthy sense of humor. As much of a virtuoso as
Waller was, he wasn't afraid to laugh --
Waller definitely knew how to have fun, and
Johnson brings a similar outlook to the table whether he is performing
Jelly Roll Morton pieces (including "Kansas City Stomp" and "Original Jelly Roll Blues") or interpreting familiar Tin Pan Alley standards such as "Lady Be Good" and "Exactly Like You." Comparing
Johnson to
Waller isn't saying that
Johnson was trying to be an exact clone;
Johnson was his own man, and
Waller was hardly his only influence.
Johnson's piano playing also owes a lot to
Jelly Roll Morton and
James P. Johnson (two other pianists who had a major impact in the '20s), as well as the Southern piano blues tradition.
Johnson's humorous performances on
Mr. Johnson Signing Off are quite a contrast to the bebop and cool jazz going on in 1950; at a time when many bop and cool artists were pointing jazz in a more complex, intellectual direction,
Johnson continued to approach jazz as party music -- an approach that went over well in Southern California. Outside of his adopted home of L.A.,
Johnson wasn't as well known as he should have been. But that fact doesn't make
Mr. Johnson Signing Off any less enjoyable.