Jimmy "Flim" Johnson

[JimmyJ]

Ed and Rusty, thanks for the kind words.  He had been in failing health for several years so while not unexpected it's still quite a blow.  Musicians who change the face of their instrument are very very rare indeed, and he was one.  Not a familiar guitar chord to be heard, no strumming, no string bending.  Chords like a keyboard and solos like a saxophone.  Tremendous speed and agility but also great emotional beauty in the music.  He was a one-off.  We're lucky to have so many great recordings of his playing and unusual compositions.  And I am very proud to have been able to visit his planet.


Best to all,
Jimmy J

[jacko]

Just woke up to this news. I'm shocked and deeply saddened and can only guess how you're feeling Jimmy. The world has lost a truly great musician and a really nice guy. He was nothing but gracious when you introduced Mike and I to him in Glasgow several years ago.

Graeme

[roycef]

Sending heartfelt condolences, Jimmy and thank you for sharing your thoughts. So very well stated. Allan was a wonderful guy and a simply incredible musician. Such a pleasure and privilege to hear you play those fantastic concerts together so many years ago. Amazing memories that I will forever cherish. I've always felt that your mellifluous, and thoughtful linear approach to the bass always paired so perfectly with Allan – especially highlighting and extending Allan's unique harmonic language (symbols and all ). The stars aligned perfectly with that combination in my opinion – an incredible legacy of musicianship. Hope to catch up soon and sending much love your way, my friend.

All the best,
Royce

[eddievig]

To all,

Check out this interview with Evan Marien:

https://www.facebook.com/manning.bartlett.9/videos/10154284410347015/

Coincidentally, this was posted on the day Allan passed, but before the news was made public. As I finished watching it, I saw the first rumblings about the Wikipedia post, which was thought to be fake...then the official confirmation that came soon after. 

Evan has some wonderful things to say about Allan, and, of course, about you Jimmy. It puts a smile on my face, hope it does for you as well.

Best,

Ed V

[jacko]

Tickets to see James Taylor at the Washington Nationals stadium in July just dropped through the letterbox !  Can't wait.

Graeme

[eddievig]

Jimmy,

I have had a long love-hate relationship with my fretless bass...it's an excellent instrument, but I'm striving towards adequacy on my best day.

Your intonation and voice on the fretless is just as righteous and distinctive as on fretted. Any insights as to your relationship with and approach to fretless playing?

Best,

Ed V

[JimmyJ]

Hey Graeme, thanks for getting those tix, I'll look for you at that one.  Should be fun as long as we have decent weather.

Ed V, thanks for the kind words.  Yeah, the fretless is a challenge.  If I'm on a session where they haven't specified I'll take a few things into consideration before switching to fretless.  Including how many chord changes there are!  My tendency is to use it on pieces where a nice long note with a bit of vibrato would be just the thing.  And the ability to connect the notes so smoothly is really cool.

Insights?  I have one of those BIG Korg tuners inline and in sight at all times.  Plus I have inlaid fret lines, LED side markers, and if possible a bright light on the fingerboard.  Ha!  If I'm working on a track at home I watch the tuner on playback and do a lot of repairing before sending it off...  It's a lovely sound but requires some extra concentration.

Of course the more you play that axe the better you get at it.  Mine gets some use but not nearly as much as the fretted bass so it's always an eye-opener when I get back to it.

Cheers everybody,
Jimmy J

[bigredbass]

So, fretless questions:

1)  I knew a fabulous fretless player back home in Texas, who always said if I dove in, always get one with the inlaid lines, and play right on the line to get the best shot at being on pitch.  You too?

2)  Somehow,  I never imagined sweating being exactly on the note would be required (you watching your tuner), that somehow a wee-bit of pitch-I-ness is expected and part of the fretless vibe.  No?

All the Best,

Joey (the poster formerly known as J O E Y)

[edwardofhuncote]

Adding to Joey's questions... what are a couple suggested tracks to listen for?  Like Eddie said, it's hard to tell when you're playing fretless. Anything with JT? (always wondered about the "Millworker" intro...)

I've always found playing fretless to be somewhat liberating. You sort of instinctively learn to trust your ears and train your left hand to land in place a split-second before a note is scheduled to bloom. Coming up a little flat or sharp of the target can be covered with some vibrato, like Joey says- the 'pitch-i-ness' is just part of it. The trick is getting just the right amount!      

[JimmyJ]

Hey Joey,

The spot is right where the string leaves the fingerboard and that's where the mark is, so your finger needs to be a bit behind it (see attached pic - if I remember how to attach one).  Very much like how you play with frets but with a bit more accuracy - and/or - please enjoy my wide vibrato!

Yes, a wee bit of pitchiness is what you want, slipping into the note from below or whatever.  But any sustained pitches are best if they're in tune. 

I seem to end up playing it on one tune per record with JT.  A good example is "Carry Me On My Way" from October Road on which the first note of the song is a bass solo.  Ha!  "Far Afghanistan" on Before This World...

I don't take it on the road though.  JT plays ALL the bass notes in his guitar pattern so I'm almost always playing exactly an octave below him.  So my feeling is, the effort it would take to play it in tune would not be worth the subtle benefit of a couple slides.  If you know what I mean.

Jimmy J
 

[keith_h]

I don't have inlaid lines but have inlaid ghost frets and they help a lot. I play right on top of the marking. The one nice thing about playing fretless is if you are off the fret doesn't rattle and show your mistake when you need to adjust your note. The slide makes it appear that you actually meant to do it.      The vibrato idea also works well.

I can understand the tuner thing. I've had folks for whatever reason take my track and actually look at what note/notes were put down on the track (both fretless and fretted). Since I am there if it isn't what was expected or wrong I either replay it or just use the DAC software to correct the pitch. If I had to send in a recording that would be hard to do so I would want it perfect before I delivered it. 

[bigredbass]

Thanks, Jimmy. 

So you've always spoken of JT playing the bass parts in his guitar playing . . . . does he ever pick one up?  Is he a frustrated bass player  ? ? ?

Joey

[eddievig]

I'm so glad to hear you mention the tuner...now I don't feel so bad about this. 20+ years after my last upright attempt I am masochistic enough to try it yet again!

Hey, Edgar Meyer uses dots...

[JimmyJ]

Joey,


Good question, I don't know if JT has ever played bass.  He's never tried mine as far as I know.  Hey wait a minute, sometimes he does get to soundcheck early...  He plays some cello so he's been in the neighborhood.


One interesting thing about his playing is that the bass note often comes before the chord.  Just part of his finger picking style - right hand thumbnail first, then chord.  When he's teaching us a tune we need to decode what should really be pushed and what's just a downbeat.  And the funniest example of this is the end of a tune like Steamroller which has a drum fill and pause before the final chord - James will often hit the bass note out in the open on the "upswing" as he is cueing the band.  Cracks me up!


Ed V, I am an upright owner (not licensed to operate it in public) and have done a similar thing with red and green electrical tape on the side of the fingerboard and even between the strings in a couple places.  Man that is a long scale length!


Jimmy J

[ryan_p]

Greeting to all from a long-time lurked. I'm from Bombay, India and play a bit of guitar strictly for my own amusement at home.

I'd like to the stream of questions directed at Jimmy :

Jimmy, I was re-visiting an old favourite, that you played on - Steve Topping's Late Flower. I love that album and one track in particular - Aigburth - is one that to me is timeless. Probably that and Air on a G string are tracks I'd like played at my funeral.

Anything that you think that we may find interesting from those sessions, that you'd care to share?

Regards to the Forum - lovely bunch of folks here.
Ryan0