"Wave" - J.J. Johnson

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

Brazilian composer, Antonio Carlos Jobim is considered to be the godfather of the bossa nova, or the new beat that became popular with American jazz musicians during the 1960’s post-bop era. Jobim’s ancestral influence included the Indigenous samba rhythms native to Brazil, and the regional music of Portugal inspired by French Impressionist composers, Spanish classical guitar, and North African traditions. Jazz historian, Ted Gioia notes how Jobim’s “hip” use of a diminished chord in the melody of “Wave” caught the attention of American musicians who were graduating from bebop to modal jazz.

This 1983 recording of J.J. Johnson playing with guitarist Joe Pass suggests a similar evolution for the trombonist, yet the surprising lack of variation in the tune’s melody and half-chorus of improvisation do little to showcase Johnson’s brilliance. Much of this album sounds like it was recorded in a single take, a statement on its own, perhaps, of demonstrated mastery, however the album’s delayed public release would suggest that it contained a performance in which Johnson’s career struggled artistically to keep up with the new beat.

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