{"id":8036,"date":"2016-12-11T17:16:56","date_gmt":"2016-12-12T01:16:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/?p=8036"},"modified":"2016-12-11T18:58:27","modified_gmt":"2016-12-12T02:58:27","slug":"recent-listening-quinn-johnson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/2016\/12\/recent-listening-quinn-johnson\/","title":{"rendered":"Recent Listening: Quinn Johnson"},"content":{"rendered":"

Quinn Johnson<\/strong>, Trio Con Clave<\/em><\/a> (QuinnJMusic)<\/p>\n

\"quinn-johnson\"Admired for his piano and arranging talents in the service of others, recordings under Johnson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s own name have rarely received the critical or popular attention they warranted. The longtime pianist and music director for singer Steve Tyrell, Johnson backs young artists like saxophonist Grace Kelly and plays for Rod Stewart, Diana Ross and other pop stars. His eclectic life may have kept his own light under a bushel, but it shines bright in this album interpreting standard songs in Latin grooves.<\/p>\n

Often assigned the piano stool in the band that bears the name of the late Clare Fischer, Johnson demonstrates feeling for and understanding of Latin rhythms that drove much of Fischer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s music. His piano technique is reminiscent of Fischer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in power and clean execution, with highly individualized harmonic development. His way with chord voicings and intervals is dramatic in Johnny Mandel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Close Enough For Love\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and Ann Ronell\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Willow Weep for Me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Johnson, Cuban\/American bassist John Belaguy and Cuban drummer Jimmy Branly apply clave patterns to other songs by Dietz & Schwartz, Vernon Duke, David Raksin and Jerome Kern, among others. Belaguy and Branly are superb throughout.<\/p>\n

In a sentence on the back of the sparsely annotated CD package, Johnson discloses that, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00e2\u20ac\u2122All the Things You Are\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 and \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcLaura\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 are based on the recordings of Peruchin.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d A major figure in Cuban music in the 1950s and early 1960s, Peruchin (Pedro Nolasco J\u00c3\u00bastiz Rodr\u00c3\u00adguez) influenced Bebo Vald\u00c3\u00a9s, Eddie Palmieri and other leading performers of Cuban music. And\u00e2\u20ac\u201dclearly\u00e2\u20ac\u201dQuinn Johnson.<\/p>\n

The home page of Johnson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s website includes an MP3 of his trio\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s version of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Close Enough for Love.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As for Peruchin, if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re unfamiliar with his music, this 1954 recording is a good way to meet him. Orlando ‘Cachaito’ Lopez is on bass with Tata Guines, congas; Guillermo Barreto, timbales; and Gustavo Tamayo, guiro.<\/p>\n

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