James P. Johnson, Composer of 'Yamekraw: A Negro Rhapsody' was born Feb. 1, 1894 in New Brunswick, New Jersey

[Victory Stride: The Symphonic Music of James P. Johnson; The Concordia Orchestra; Marin Alsop, Conductor; Music Masters 67140 (1994)]

The pianist and composer James Price Johnson (1894-1955) is profiled at AfriClassical.com. He is best known as a stride pianist, but also studied classical music and endeavored to gain recognition as a composer of concert music. Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma wrote the liner notes for the CD Got the Saint-Louis Blues: Classical Music in the Jazz Age, Clarion CLR907 (2004), which includes a performance of Johnson's Yamekraw: A Negro Rhapsody (15:49) by pianist Paul Shaw and the VocalEssence Ensemble conducted by Philip Brunelle.

Dr. De Lerma relates that Johnson's music studies with Bruto Giannini were followed by piano lessons from Eubie Blake. He continues: “Toward the end of the 1920s, Johnson began devoting time to the study of orchestration, counterpoint, and harmony.” Dr. De Lerma writes of two of the strokes Johnson suffered: “His first stroke in 1940 did not prevent him from presenting a concert of his own works at Carnegie Hall in 1944, but a much more serious stroke occurred in 1951, confining him to bed until his death.”

James Price Johnson died on Nov. 17, 1955, we are told by his biographer, Scott E. Brown: “James P. Johnson died as a result of a final massive stroke. He was admitted to Queens General Hospital after having suffered the stroke (his eighth) at home two days earlier. All the major newspapers carried his obituary, but his name probably meant little to the general public. One thing, however, is very interesting about these obituaries. In their headlines and opening paragraphs, they identify Johnson not only as a jazz pianist but also as a prolific composer.”

Comment by email:
Today is also the birthday of Langston Hughes. Dominique-René de Lerma
http://www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com

Blackface Illustrates Post On Music of James Price Johnson

AfriClassical will not use the Blackface poster found on this “Kakewalk” post on music of James Price Johnson, an African American pianist and composer of stride piano and classical music. It depicts two people in Blackface, and reads: “57 Annual University of Vermont Kakewalk, Memorial Auditorium February 18-19-20-1954”. We have submitted this comment on the post:

“Minstrelsy is not only outdated but overtly racist to its core. See the PBS web presentation "Stephen Foster: Blackface Minstrelsy",

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/foster/sfeature/sf_minstrelsy.html

for the history of this attempt to portray African Americans as inferior to other Americans in every way. The poster is completely inappropriate.”

Suites of Duke Ellington, James Price Johnson, Scott Joplin & William Grant Still

On Feb. 4, the blog of WFIU, “Night Lights” posted a history of classical suites by African American composers such as Duke Ellington, James Price Johnson, Scott Joplin and William Grant Still:

In the early 20th century African-American composers began to write extended musical depictions of black American life–Scott Joplin with his unstaged opera Treemonisha, pianist James P. Johnson with his Yamekraw: A Negro Rhapsody, and–perhaps most successfully-William Grant Still with his Afro-American Symphony in 1931. That same year Duke Ellington told a reporter, “I’m going to compose a musical evolution of the Negro race.” It took Ellington 12 years to achieve his goal–the 45-minute-long Black, Brown and Beige Suite: a Tone Parallel to the History of the Negro in America, which is now considered to be one of his greatest works. Full Post