“Naked as a Jaybird” (PDF) from the Joe Pass & J.J. Johnson album, We’ll Be Together Again

All evidence suggests that this album was an afterthought - recorded in a single day in 1983 and released the following the year, the song selection consists mostly of standard jazz repertoire, and even the liner notes attempt to justify the absence of a full band. Likewise, this J.J. Johnson original composition, “Naked as a Jaybird” is a straight-ahead blues as if the trombonist and guitarist quickly decided upon a warm up to the recording session. The publishing credits on the vinyl’s label are unremarkable as well with J.J.’s tune assigned simply to 2 Jay’s Publishing Co.

Perhaps the most significant aspect to this recording is J.J Johnson’s performance as a rhythmic accompaniment to the dexterous Joe Pass. When the extraordinary responsibilities of bebop are stripped away from the melodic instrument, J.J.’s role then becomes the rhythmic pulse expressed through his articulation of the beat with either laid back eighth-notes or alternating quarter-note patterns. At some point, surely, someone realized that Johnson’s unadorned playing was as exposed as his first day.

Here is a YouTube video of Joe Pass casually playing the blues:

Recommended Reading: Exercises And Etudes For The Jazz Instrumentalist by J.J. Johnson. Published by Hal Leonard.