ENDEIT
Johnny Hodges
Photo: William P. Gottlieb, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Saxophonists · 1907–1970

Johnny Hodges

American alto saxophonist (1907–1970)

Born
25 July 1907
Cambridge
Died
11 May 1970
New York City
Country
United States
Record labels
Verve Records, Vocalion Records
Discography
43 albums

Biography

Johnny Hodges was a jazz musician who played saxophone and clarinet. Johnny Hodges was born on 25 July 1907 in Cambridge and died on 11 May 1970 in New York City. The music is usually filed under jazz. Record labels: Verve Records and Vocalion Records. The discography here lists 43 albums, from “Creamy” (1955) to “Live in Paris 13 Mars 1961” (2021).

John Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on soprano saxophone, but refused to play soprano after 1940. Along with Benny Carter, Hodges is considered to be one of the definitive alto saxophone players of the big band era. After beginning his career as a teenager in Boston, Hodges began to travel to New York and played with Lloyd Scott, Sidney Bechet, Luckey Roberts, and Chick Webb. When Ellington wanted to expand his band in 1928, Ellington's clarinet player Barney Bigard recommended Hodges. His playing became one of the identifying voices of the Ellington orchestra.

Read the full article on Wikipedia ↗ · From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Discography

Studio and live albums

Creamy 1955
Dance Bash 1955
Duke's in Bed 1956
Ellingtonia '56 1956
Johnny Hodges and the Ellington All Stars 1956
Memories of Ellington 1956
Play The Prettiest Gershwin 1959
The Big Sound 1961
The Eleventh Hour 1962
Sandy's Gone 1963
Blue Rabbit 1964
Everybody Knows 1964
Mess Of Blues 1964
Joe's Blues 1965
Wings and Things 1965
Alto Blue 1966
Blue Pyramid 1966
Stride Right 1966
Don't Sleep in the Subway 1967
Swing's Our Thing 1968
Rippin' and Runnin' 1969
3 Shades of Blue 1970
A Tribute to Johnny Hodges 1970
Triple Play 1987
Compact Jazz: Johnny Hodges & Wild Bill Davis 1989
In A Mellotone 1990
At Sportpalast, Berlin 1993 · Live
Jeep's Blues 1995
Johnny Hodges With Billy Strayhorn And The Orchestra 1995
The Complete 1941-1954 Small Group Sessions Vol. 2 1950 1995
Day Dream 1998
Johnny Hodges & Wild Bill Davis at Grace's Little Belmont, Atlantic City 2000 · Live
Collates No. 2 2002
Hop, Skip and Jump 2002
Buenos Aires Blues / The Eleventh Hour 2009
Half & Half 2018
All That Jazz, Vol. 111: Sumpin' Jumpin' – Johnny Hodges & The Ellingtonians (Remastered 2019) 2019
Live in Paris 13 Mars 1961 2021
Blue Hodge
Con-Soul & Sax
Joe's Blues
Johnny Hodges Featuring Ben Webster
Johnny Hodges With the Lawrence Welk's Orchestra

Also plays on

Albums where Johnny Hodges is credited as a sideman

1957 Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book — Ella Fitzgerald alto saxophone
1957 Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book, Volume 2 — Ella Fitzgerald alto saxophone
1959 Back to Back: Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges Play the Blues — Duke Ellington & Johnny Hodges alto saxophone
1959 Side by Side — Duke Ellington & Johnny Hodges alto saxophone
1960 Dance Air Force Date 1960 — Duke Ellington alto saxophone
1960 Blues in Orbit — Duke Ellington alto saxophone
1961 First Time! The Count Meets the Duke — Duke Ellington and Count Basie alto saxophone
1963 Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins — Duke Ellington & Coleman Hawkins alto saxophone
1966 Ella at Duke’s Place — Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington alto saxophone
1966 Concert of Sacred Music — Duke Ellington saxophone, alto saxophone
1967 Francis A. & Edward K. — Frank Sinatra with Duke Ellington alto saxophone
1967 The Far East Suite — Duke Ellington alto saxophone
1971 New Orleans Suite — Duke Ellington alto saxophone
1989 Braggin' in Brass: The Immortal 1938 Year — Duke Ellington saxophone, clarinet, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, reeds
2001 Caravan — Duke Ellington alto saxophone, clarinet
2005 Rockin' in Rhythm — Duke Ellington alto saxophone
2014 In Gröna Lund 1963 — Duke Ellington alto saxophone
2014 The Duke: Historically Speaking — Duke Ellington alto saxophone
2017 Blues In Orbit + The Cosmic Scene — Duke Ellington– alto saxophone
2023 Ella Sings the Blues — Ella Fitzgerald alto saxophone
2023 Ellington In Order, Volume 4 (1932) — Duke Ellington saxophone

Analysed solos by Johnny Hodges

  • Early Morning Rockalto saxophone · 176 BPM · Eb-maj · 1957-09-03
  • Bunnyalto saxophone · 114 BPM · C-maj · 1959-11-17

Historic 78 rpm records

  • I'M SATISFIED DUKE ELLINGTON'S ORCHESTRA · Cootie Williams · Freddy Jenkins ·… archive.org ↗
  • WHO SAID, "IT'S TIGHT LIKE THAT" DUKE ELLINGTON & HIS ORCHESTRA · Cootie Williams · Fred Jenkins ·… archive.org ↗
  • TOASTED PICKLE DUKE ELLINGTON'S SEPTET · Cootie Williams · Barney Bigard · Johnny… archive.org ↗
  • REXATIOUS REX STEWARTS ELLINGTONIANS · Rex Stewart · Lawrence Brown · Johnny… archive.org ↗
  • THEM THERE EYES DUKE ELLINGTON and His ORCH. · Arthur Whetsel, Cootie Williams… archive.org ↗
  • TOP AND BOTTOM DUKE ELLINGTON'S SEPTET · Cootie Williams · Barney Bigard · Johnny… archive.org ↗
  • REXATIOUS REX STEWARTS ELLINGTONIANS · Rex Stewart · Lawrence Brown · Johnny… archive.org ↗
  • Mellow mood Johnny Hodges and his All-Stars orchestra · Johnny Hodges · Jimmy… archive.org ↗

Frequently asked questions

What instrument did Johnny Hodges play?

Johnny Hodges is known for playing saxophone and clarinet.

When and where was Johnny Hodges born?

Johnny Hodges was born 25 July 1907 in Cambridge.

What are Johnny Hodges's best-known albums?

Albums in our database include Creamy (1955), Dance Bash (1955), Duke's in Bed (1956), Ellingtonia '56 (1956) and Johnny Hodges and the Ellington All Stars (1956).

External links

Data compiled from open sources; see the source links below. Spotted an error? Let us know.