Reggie Johnson

The clearest quality of a bassist is the support he always gives the group. Reggie Johnson was more than just this. He once told me "Just tell me what you want the first note to be, and it's my job to get all the rest. It's not a matter of finding the Right note, but of finding the Best note."

This is all done by ear. The intelligence and ability to anticipate correctly where this is going (while also leading and nudging into new places) were some of the many qualities I associate with Reggie.

It hit me rather hard when he "moved." He was too young at heart.

When I first came to Bern in 1985, he and Alvin Queen sat me done in the Arcady Bar in the Schweizerhof to welcome me and to lay out the do's and don't's of the gig at Jaylins. They cared enough to be Big Brothers to this new kid from another neighborhood. It was all Music to them. They were looking out for one another, and I was honored they let me into the Family. I still am!

Reggie and I both went through taunts from a singer together. He showed me how to smile away and let the remarks roll off with no effect, while Clyde Lucas kept that Loving Light in his huge heart, and the gig was a great success because of this. "Sticks and stones..." goes the phrase. It really didn't seem to touch Reggie at all. "I take the Path of Least Resistance," said he, and he exuded the best manner of quiet strength and and an unending easy sense of humor. He could almost always enjoy himself on the gig.

...and this man had worked with everyone from Archie Shepp to Art Blakey, Johnny Griffin, Horace Parlan, Monty Alexander, Kenny Barron, Tom Harrell, Phil Woods, Cedar Walton, Alvin Queen, Jesse Davis, Freddie Redd and Clark Terry, just to name a few.

Like all the other Musicians I worked with, he emphasized individuality and style. We were in Jaylins one evening and "The Summer Wind" came on in the house. Three notes in, he turns and smiles and simply says "Ray" (Brown.)

A True Pro keeps his artistic sensitivity without sacrificing his demeanor. Reggie could really play with anyone (even though he said "Only Jimmy Woode could play with Dorothy Donegan.")

He loved the esoteric as much as he enjoyed a dance floor. He always did play that Best note.

We talked a lot about Music. I was becoming more linear in my approach to chords and he said he didn't think much about chords, as he focused on intervals. I got it.

To go back to that first gig in Bern once more, I'll simply state that Hanka and I showed up all spruced and spiffy, and Reggie, after a day or two with us said, "You look like Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane" with that big loving smile. So I became Jimmy Olsen......... He became Kermit the Frog. We lived in a sitcom.....it was wonderful.

Thank you Reggie. None of the good you so generously gave to all around you is ever gone. It's all here now. Thank you, dear Reggie!