The Felonious Funk of J.J. Johnson

Jazz trombone great J.J. Johnson composed and played on a number film and television soundtracks during the feloniously funky 1970s, ranging from blaxploitation potboilers such as Shaft (with Isaac Hayes) and Trouble Man (with Marvin Gaye) to episodes of TV's Starsky & Hutch and The Six Million Dollar Man.

Johnson worked with Bobby Womack on one of the best blaxploitation soundtracks ever, Across 110th Street. It opens with all the drama and soul one could ever hope for in a title theme. If it were the only good track, it would still be worth the price. Thankfully, it isn't -- this is a well rounded score. From there you get Johnson's funky instrumentals ("Harlem Clavinette"), mellow soul ("If You Don't Want My Love"), wise-ass dialogue ("Punk Errand Boy"), catchy up-tempo soul ("Hang on in There" vocal and instrumental versions!) and righteous blues ("Do It Right").

Johnson's score for Cleopatra Jones is funky, soulful and memorable, featuring instrumentals and songs sung by Joe Simon and Millie Jackson. This score's soulful groove never lets up. Most importantly, there's a great theme and great chase music, featuring the wah-wah rhythms, brash brass, jagged string arrangements, rolling bass, fatback drumming, funky keys, heavy flute.

J.J. Johnson also delivered a soulful and riveting score for the pimptastic Willie Dynamite in 1974. Featuring four vocal performances by Martha Reeves & The Sweet Things, Willie Dynamite strikes the ideal blaxploitation balance of soul and funk. While the vocal tracks are fine but not particularly essential, Johnson's action-packed instrumentals are the real attraction. Cuts like "Willie Chase," "Willie Escape" and "Parade Strut" combine big band brass with dynamic percussion, wailing organ solos and unusual harmonica effects.

All three killer scores place Johnson alongside such the blaxploitation masters as Isaac Hayes, Willie Hutch and Curtis Mayfield.

Jazz Soundtracks — Part 8

Portions of the following are excerpts from the book Film and Television Scores, 1950-1979 (McFarland, 2008) by Kristopher Spencer, founder of Scorebaby.com.

Another couple of jazz legends who cut soundtracks during the ’60s and ’70s are Herbie Hancock and J.J. Johnson.

On Blow Up (’66) — Michelangelo Antonioni’s existential crime film about a hip London fashion photographer who thinks he’s witnessed a murder — Hancock draws upon his hard bop and rare groove chops. The results aren’t particularly cinematic — one could easily be fooled into thinking this is one of Hancock’s Blue Note recordings from the same period — but they are kicky nonetheless. One of the best tracks is the bouncy “Bring Down the Birds,” which dance pop group Dee-lite sampled for their early ’90s hit “Groove is in the Heart.” The soundtrack also features “Stroll On” by The Yardbirds, who appear in a riveting club scene.

By the time Hancock scored Death Wish (’74), he’d already moved on to fusion. For this Charles Bronson vigilante flick, Hancock creates a mood of sophisticated yet funky suspense. The densely arranged and tension-mounting main theme is worth the price of admission alone. On “Do a Thing” and “Paint Her Mouth,” he opts for more minimalistic arrangements to more disturbing effect. The centerpiece of Death Wish is the 9-minute “Suite Revenge,” which explores stylistic cues from atonal symphonic, as well as African tribal drumming and Hancock’s penchant for synth sounds. Hancock’s score for Death Wish, while not as immediately accessible as the groovier Blow Up, is an intriguing, richly detailed crime score every bit as gritty as the movie.

One of the best soundtracks of ’72 and of the blaxploitation era is Across 110th Street, featuring music by legendary jazz trombonist J.J. Johnson and songs performed by Bobby Womack & Peace. Hit-maker Womack’s theme song boasts a memorable hook, a sweeping arrangement and a lyrical message that doesn’t pull punches about organized crime and the drug epidemic. Womack also contributes a tender ballad (“If You Don’t Want My Love”), an up-tempo pop number (“Quicksand”), a bit of hard funky rock (“Do It Right”) and raucous feel good soul (“Hang On In There”). Johnson performs instrumental versions of most songs, but his contribution is most noticeable on “Harlem Clavinette,” which raised the bar on cinematic funk with its pulsating rhythm and bubbly mix of brass, wah guitar, clavinet keyboard, percussion and electronics. J.J. Johnson also contributed excellent soundtracks for Cleopatra Jones, Trouble Man (with Marvin Gaye) and Willie Dynamite.

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