"When Lights Are Low" - J.J. Johnson

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

Unlike the other Miles Davis-inspired tunes on the Joe Pass & J.J. Johnson album, We’ll Be Together Again, like “Solar” and “Nature Boy,” the origins of “When The Lights Are Low” appear to be as clear as day. When the tune was recorded by Davis and his quartet in 1953, it was one of the few that received proper songwriting credit, perhaps due to its popularity throughout New York City in the early-twentieth century, attributed to pianist Spencer Williams and arranger Benny Carter.

A native of New Orleans, Spencer Williams’ professional career began playing in Chicago before eventually relocating to New York City in pursuit of a songwriting career - 4 years prior to Louis Armstrong’s arrival to The Windy City. It was in New York where Williams wrote the bulk of his hits that became New Orleans jazz standards, such as “Basin Street Blues'' and “Royal Garden Blues,” and by the end of the 1920s, the pianist had moved to Europe where he toured with stage musicals for the remainder of his career. But it was Williams’ success in Paris as a Black American artist that would deeply influence Miles Davis’ recorded work throughout the 1950s and, ultimately, the work of trombonist J.J. Johnson.

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