Johnny Dunn

Johnny Dunn (February 19, 1897 – August 20, 1937) was an American traditional jazz trumpeter and vaudeville performer, who was born in Memphis, Tennessee.[1] He is probably best known for his work during the 1920s with musicians such as Perry Bradford or Noble Sissle.[2] He has been compared in sound and style to both King Oliver and Louis Armstrong. In 1922, he recorded as a member of Mamie Smith's Jazz Hounds,[3] together with Garvin Bushell, Coleman Hawkins, Everett Robbins, Bubber Miley and Herb Flemming.[4]

For the Australian footballer, see Johnny Dunn (footballer).

As bandleader

As a bandleader, he led the following lineups:[5]

Recordings

In 1928, Dunn recorded four tracks with Jelly Roll Morton, and two more with both James P. Johnson and Fats Waller. Although he is either the bandleader or is featured on many recordings from about 1923 on, he never made any more recordings after 1928, and relocated permanently to Europe.[1]

Personal life

Dunn died of tuberculosis aged 40 in Paris, France in August 1937, but his playing style was so out of fashion, that he was largely forgotten by that time.[1]

Influence

In 1921, Dunn's trumpet playing style, with a plunger, inspired Tricky Sam Nanton to use the plunger with the trombone. This became known as the wah-wah effect.[11] Two stories circulate about Dunn's visit to the Sunset Café to embarrass a young Louis Armstrong. In one story, Dunn stumbled around an unfamiliar key after asking Armstrong to yield his horn; in another story, Dunn and Armstrong dueled by alternating choruses until Armstrong won.[12]

References
  1. "Biography by Scott Yanow". AllMusic. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  2. Carr, Ian; Digby Fairweather; Brian Priestley (1995). Jazz: The Rough Guide. The Rough Guides. pp. 183. ISBN 1-85828-137-7.
  3. Giles Oakley (1997). The Devil's Music. Da Capo Press. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-306-80743-5.
  4. "Black Recording Artists, 1877-1926: An Annotated Discography". McFarland. December 12, 2012. p. 404 – via Google Books.
  5. "Johnny Dunn". Red Hot Jazz Archive. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  6. "Johnny Dunn's Original Jazz Hounds". Red Hot Jazz Archive. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  7. "Johnny Dunn and his Jazz Band". Red Hot Jazz Archive. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  8. "Johnny Dunn and his Original Jazz Band". Red Hot Jazz Archive. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  9. "Edith Wilson and Johnny Dunn's Jazz Hounds". Red Hot Jazz Archive. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  10. "Johnny Dunn and his Band". Red Hot Jazz Archive. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  11. "Tricky Sam Nanton @ All About Jazz". Musicians.allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  12. Brothers, Thomas (2014). Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company. pp. 258–59. ISBN 978-0-393-06582-4.
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