Remembering Sy Johnson

Remembering Sy Johnson

April 15, 1930 - July 26, 2022

Legendary composer, arranger, pianist, singer, photographer and storyteller.

Sy Johnson first performed with Charles Mingus at the Showplace, a jazz club on West 4th St., in the band that included Booker Ervin on tenor, Ted Curson on trumpet, Dannie Richmond on drums, and Mingus on bass, and on his first night with Mingus, Eric Dolphy performed on alto, bass clarinet and flute. The gig lasted two weeks and ended when Johnson came into work and found himself replaced by Yusef Lateef, the multi-instrumentalist. Mingus explained: "If you were me, and had the chance to hire Yusef Lateef or you, who would you hire?"

In 1971, eleven year later, Mingus climbed the stairs to Emile Charlap’s copying office, home to many great arrangers, and before he left, he gave Johnson "Let My Children Hear Music" to arrange, which featured Mingus pieces including, "Shoes of the Fisherman’s Wife Are Some Jive Ass Slippers" and "Don’t Be Afraid, The Clowns Afraid Too". The album's emergence was heralded with a live concert, Mingus And Friends At Philharmonic Hall, also arranged by Johnson and released as an album. Johnson continued to work with Mingus until his death from Lou Gehrig’s disease in 1979. Mingus recorded two of Johnson’s compositions, "Wee" and "For Harry Carney", and nominated Johnson for a Guggenheim award following his own in jazz composition.

Johnson continued to work with Sue Mingus arranging charts for all the Mingus repertory ensembles—the Mingus Big Band, the Mingus Orchestra and the Mingus Dynasty. His other collaborations in the music world have been with Joe Williams, Frank Sinatra, Wes Montgomery, Roy Eldridge, Ben Webster, Quincy Jones, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Mel Torme, Terry Gibbs, and Sarah Vaughan among others. He has also worked on Broadway and in films such as The Cotton Club (1984). Sy Johnson was also a jazz photographer, writer, pianist, singer, and teacher who is survived by his wife Lois Mirviss Johnson.

Charles Mingus and Sy Johnson, Photo by David Redfern