Jimmy "Flim" Johnson

[jos]

Hi Jimmy!
 
Yes that is another story if someone who calls you for a session wants you to use something specific like the Hofner and Ampeg B-15. Take the money and run?.
But seriously that is the other side of being professional to be able to work with what is needed for the situation even if it?s not exactly what you would like to have as the first choice.  
You are however one of the guys who have been able to keep your own sound and identity on the sessions you done. When I listen to a record where there are 2-3 different bass players mentioned on the album cover, I could immediately tell what tunes you are playing on!!  
There is also another guy I have a lot of respect for called Armand Sabal-Lecco. Whatever instrument he plays he always sounds like him and he has also a very nice approach on the instrument, different from yours but also very good. Of course there is a lot of great players out there but for me it?s a question of great sound, identity, emotions and being able to keep your thing in whatever musical situation there is in a musical way. Your sound is your signature and identity. I love Stanley Clarke as well; he still finds new ways to talk with his instrument?

[jacko]

Jimmy and jan-Olof.
It's interesting that you should both pick up on the fact that most of the time a bassist will usually sound like himself and of course it's absolutely true. in fact, no matter how I tweak the EQ on my navigator, it always ends up sounding like me ;-)
A very good example of this is the finale to Stanley's 'Night School' DVD where around 10 'name' bassists each take a chorus of School Days. If you close your eyes you can almost instantly tell who each player is from Flea through to Marcus. Of course, Jimmy, you're in there, and Armand too. must have been a great gig! In fact Jimmy, it looks like you almost missed your turn, having problems with your cable?
Naturally, the rest of the DVD is well worth watching too. There are stellar performances from the likes of Stewart Copeland, sheila E and Karen Briggs. At times I feel pretty jealous that I'm not living in the US as we rarely get a chance to see these Artistes over here (and almost never beyond London). Still, only two and a half months till JT ;-)
 
Graeme
 
edit: On the subject of the Hofner, I tried to get to grips with one early in my 'career' and seeing how unmanageable I found it brought a whole new respect for McCartney.
 
(Message edited by jacko on April 15, 2009)

[jakebass]

He he, how to sleep in a van. I learned at the tender age of 22 in a frozen east Germany, it was sleep or die (I had been fussy up till then) now I can sleep anywhere. Jimmy it's funny the things you learn on the road. Whenever I fly with bands I always have the smallest bag, never take anything I don't need, always pack tight.
Two great tips I have learned along the way:
I always stuff my socks and underwear into my shoes, keeps the shoes in shape and saves space.
 
When doing laundry in a room, place wet clothing on a laid flat towel then roll it up into a sausage, stand on one end and twist the other end as tight as you can go (without breaking your wrist) it's a great head start on drying your clothes (and no laundry bill from the hotel :-))
 
Another van trick for hot weather:
in the digs at night ask the host to freeze a bottle of water for you, wrap a flannel around it and place in a cool box, the flannel is very refreshing for neck and face wipes all day on long hot journeys, and as the water melts you have a cool drink.
 
I have enjoyed making the hardships of the road as pleasurable as possible over the years, small luxuries can really make the difference, although these days I tend to have a little better standard than the early days, which is lucky as the glamour soon fades past 40!!
 
Also fascinating stuff about the gear and individual sound from everybody. For me I have found that the basses I have played down the years have always just not quite delivered on what I'm putting in to the instrument, until I found Alembic that is, so I found when I played one that yep, thats how I should sound.
I do like my old Fender Jazz for certain things but I always feel a little like an imitator on it. I play upright also so I'm familiar with the concept of really working an instrument to get the best out of it, Alembic to me are the only electric bass that require the same kind of input from me as a player, and despite there being an 'Alembic sound' I have found them to be very versatile dependent on how you play 'em.
 
Finally, Jimmy I will hopefully make JTs London show. Really looking forward to hearing you guys, that is one helluva band :-)

[jos]

HI Graeme!
 
Yes the Stanley DVD Night School is fun to watch! But for the School Days jam in the end I think besides of Stanley?s solo Jimmy?s solo is the only solo that make sense?I love all the bass players there but the performances reminds me more of some kind of tradeshow demo playing?. but then, that was probably the idea? just to fool around and not think so much. Nice DVD anyway. I know there was a great performance with Stanley, Armand and Stewart Copeland but unfortunately that was not included in the commercial DVD, I wonder why?  
Its also great that there are some Jimmy Johnson DVD?s out there like the James Taylor concerts, so many musicians on the stage but still so much space!! Also the old Lee Ritenour DVD is fun (1984 or 1985) even if it?s from the -80\s. Jimmy still sounds fresh and plays great like always..

[eddievig]

To all,
 
Greetings from New Orleans! I am glad to have found this community of Flim fans.
 
Jimmy,
 
I wasn't in town for your recent Jazz Fest gig with JT, unfortunately. I hope that you had some time to sample some of our great local music and food while you were here. Were there any artists that left an impression with you?  
 
I have been a fan since the Wayne Johnson days, and was fortunate to have met you many years ago at a NAMM show (playing with Will Kennedy, Alex Acuna and Dave Garfield at the Paiste booth...Steve Lukather even got in on the action). if I remember correctly, you showed me two versions of the cover art for the upcoming BB's New Pants CD. I also remember catching you with Holdsworth a couple of years later at Jimmy's Music Club; what a show!
 
Many thanks for the inspired (and inspirational)
playing. I look forward to hearing your upcoming projects.

[JimmyJ]

Hey Ed,
 
Thanks, I appreciate that.  Sorry you weren't at Jazz Fest but funny that you saw us in the Paiste box at NAMM so many years ago.  Good stuff.
 
Sure is a lot of music in Nawlin's, gotta be at least two bands per block.  And the Festival with all 5 stages and 3 music tents going at the same time is just like a larger version of walking around the city.  Glad to see so much of the town recovering and hope it continues.
 
Take care, see you around here...
Jimmy J

[jacko]

Well, I made it. 35 years after my brother gave me his copies of 'sweet baby james' and 'mud slide slim', I finally got to see James Taylor in concert and boy! was it worth the wait. The entire show was superb - I couldn't fault anyone's performance - and James took the band through just about every style imaginable. His between songs anecdotes and observations were very funny and he came across as a genuinely nice guy. Of course, no posting here would be complete without mention to our bass hero, Jimmy Johnson. His tone throughout the night was sublime, especially when Steve Gadd wasn't bashing his bass drum. I was especially impressed that even when playing fills well above the 12th fret, there was no 'nasal' harshness, just a nice fat buttery series 2 sound. Jimmy makes his playing look effortless (and so he should - he's been doing it so long) and he really looked like he was enjoying himself. I only took my new compact digital to the show so didn't get the quality of zoom shots I would have with my SLR but towards the end of the show we were allowed to get closer to dance near the stage. However, as you'd expect from such a genuinely modest guy, jimmy is very difficult to photograph, preferring to lurk in the background. These few are the best I could manage..  

 

 

  I can only say it was a priviledge to have been there and I'll be sure to go along next time. Hopefully they'll bring the show to scotland, or failing that, I'll be sure to catch the next Holdsworth tour.  Graeme (still buzzing)

[David Houck]

Thanks for the great revue Graeme!

[dadabass2001]

Excellent, Graeme!
I('m very jealous, and yet happy for your good fortune being this close. I just watched Pull Over again 2 days ago.
Mike

[JimmyJ]

Hey Graeme,
 
Glad you could make it down to the gig and thanks for posting those pics (so THAT'S what the stage looks like...).  The sound man is in charge of the tone so I'll pass along your positive comments.  It is a fantastic bunch of players and singers so I am truly enjoying it and feel fortunate to be along for the ride.
 
I do hope to get back to the UK with Holdsworth at some point, including Edinburgh.  Then maybe we could get a chance to hang out and talk shop for a while..
 
Cheers to all,
Jimmy J

[jakebass]

Nice review Graeme, I'm going to the 02 Show on Monday and am really looking forward to the show, I have seen James twice before once with Jimmy and band and once with just Larry Goldings. Both definitely in my top ten gigs, James is a very special artist in my view.
Can't wait.
Jimmy, hope you're enjoying your time in the UK.
Jake

[jakebass]

Wow... what a gig! I am genuinely knocked out and have not felt so excited about music since I was a kid. I could talk about the details of why James and his band (led by you Jimmy?) made such an impact but that would miss the point, they are great songs performed by a great artist backed by a great band. And I mean great in the global, historical sense. It makes me doubly excited being an Alembic owner to know that my comments may be read by a member of that 'great great' band. From pin drop poignance to roaring riotousness in a breath, and as far as I can see without fail for every second of the gig every member put the music first.
Bravo.
If you haven't yet seen this band you are missing one of the best live acts in history.
 
Jimmy, one thing I would like to ask if you could bear the question, do you have a mental approach to that standard of consistency? to my mind you are making an album quality performance each night, does it feel that way to you? or is it as simple as, 'you do what you do'?
 
Thanks
 
Jake
 
(Message edited by jakebass on July 07, 2009)

[bkbass]

For Jimmy J., You passsed through the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. That's my facility. I was unable to meet up with you. If you have the time on the return leg of your journey I would love to meet up and grab lunch in the area. Contact me at bkravitz@panynj.gov look forward to your reply.

[JimmyJ]

Jake,
 
Man, thanks for that extra kind post, I'm glad you enjoyed the show.  You completely GET the idea of this gig and this band - it's all about supporting James and whatever music he chooses to play.  When I joined in 1990 Don Grolnick was the MD.  I only really knew him as a great jazz musician but he had a deep respect for every kind of music.  If James wanted to play some odd cowboy blues song from the 1800's Don would dig in and study everything he could find about the period and then guide us on how to properly respect the tune.  It was a real lesson to me.
 
My goal in this situation is not to play something different each night but to play exactly the right note at the right moment in every song every night.  It's a different kind of discipline from other more open blowing types of gigs but I enjoy this challenge equally.  And I still mess up - like leaving my mute switch on at the beginning of one tune at the O2.  D'OH!
 
Landau, Goldings and Gadd are amazing musical players and together with James really put the life into this music.  It's an honor to be in charge of the bottom note and great fun playing anything with these cats!
 
Thanks again.
 
Hey Barry, really sorry to have missed you as we blew through the Brooklyn Terminal.  What a wild coincidence!  And I'm sorry to say we are flying home at the end of the tour so the best I can do is wave as we pass over.  I don't know if we will ever do that ship crossing again but if we do, next time I'll know there is an Alembic family member in the facility and I'll look you up.
 
Jimmy J

[jakebass]

Hey Jimmy
I'm sure everybody on this site appreciates you taking the time to post, and it's lovely for us to get an insight into the ideas that make for music that many of us want to hear. I was a huge admirer of Don Grolnick and your saying that you learned a lot from him tells me that what I felt had to be true about the integrity of the man was right, and I believe that was audible in his music, he had the ability to make the listener really 'feel' where he was coming from and that place it seems to me was a great, humble, gifted musician. I also had similar respect for Carlos Vega, for me he was the detail guy and I'm sure that you and he had many conversations about what would fit. I think in Gadd and Goldings you have found just the right guys to fill those very big shoes.  
 
I also love to play the disciplined gigs, and I totally understand your drive to play the 'right' things. I play lots of gigs where I improvise, but I always strive above all to nail the low end down and be reliable. I draw a little comfort from the fact that you still encounter human error at that level. :0).
 
Last month I was in Germany depping with the virtuoso violinist David Garrett, It was 45 piece orchestra, rock band, click track, all reading with just two rehearsals for 2 gigs, one for the German president and one in a tennis stadium to about 8000 people, oh, and the drummer was a dep too. It was a mighty pressured gig and all the time I had going through my head.. don't mess up... don't mess up.  
 
As you say I GET (well I try) the idea behind supporting an artist, and to be able to share thoughts with the bass player for one of my favourite artists is a real treat.
 
I'm definitely going to make it to a Holdsworth gig sometime and I'll come say hello.
 
Many thanks Jimmy
 
Jake
 
PS I loved the arrangement of down in the hole!
 
(Message edited by jakebass on July 08, 2009)
 
(Message edited by jakebass on July 08, 2009)