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Lonnie Johnson (Alonzo) 1889

8/2/2021

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Chitarrista e cantante statunitense (New Orleans, 8.2.1889 – Toronto, 16.6.1970). L’anno di nascita rimane molto controverso: alcuni dicono 1894, altri 1889 o 1900. Cresciuto in una famiglia di musicisti, impara subito a suonare il violino e la chitarra, sia con l’orchestrina di corde del padre, sia con il fratello James.

Si imbarca per l’Europa nel 1917 e suona in una rivista a Londra fino 1919. Al suo ritorno viene a sapere che la famiglia è stata decimata da un’epidemia di influenza. Si reca a St Louis (1921) e lavora con orchestre locali: Fate Marable e Charlie Creath, con il quale registra suonando il violino. Ma per due anni abbandonerà la musica, avendo ottenuto un posto in una fonderia.

Nel 1925 vince un concorso organizzato dalla casa discografica Okeh, e diventa uno dei musicisti della casa, per la quale registra molto, in particolare con Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Eddie Lang, Victoria Spivey. Per svariati anni, a partire dal 1932, più o meno regolarmente, si esibisce con l’orchestra del pianista cantante Putney Dandridge nella regione di Cleveland. Nel 1937 lo ritroviamo a Chicago dove suona di frequente al Three Deuces, spesso con Johnny Dodds.

A partire dagli anni ’40 si produce soprattutto come cantante solista, accompagnandosi con la chitarra elettrica. Nel 1948 il suo disco Tomorrow Night ottiene un grande successo. Ma negli anni ’50 non è più musicista a tempo pieno; lo ritroviamo nelle cucine di un albergo di Filadelfia.

Fa una tournée in Inghilterra suonando con Humphrey Lyttelton (1952), ritorna in Europa con l’American Folk Blues Festival nel 1963, e si stabilisce a Toronto (1965) dove dirige, per breve tempo, un club. Non si rimetterà da un problema circolatorio sopraggiunto nel 1969. Compare un’ultima volta in pubblico (febbraio 1970) per un concerto di blues dato alla Massey Hall.

La sua tecnica strumentale, eccezionale all’epoca, la sua sonorità raffinata, la sua verve melodica e swing che produce sia come solista che come accompagnatore, hanno fatto di lui, fin dagli anni ’20, un chitarrista di primissimo piano. Ha esercitato una notevole influenza su molti musicisti più giovani, in particolare Charlie Christian. Come cantante, bluesman del tipo “urbano”, grazie alla dizione precisa, si situa lontano dall’accento aspro dei “rurali”.
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[A.C., J.P.D.]
American guitarist and singer (New Orleans, 8.2.1889 - Toronto, 16.6.1970). The year of his birth remains very controversial: some say 1894, others 1889 or 1900. Raised in a musicians' family, he immediately learned to play the violin and the guitar, both with his father's string orchestra and with brother James.

He embarks for Europe in 1917 and plays in a show in London until 1919. Upon his return, he learns that a flu epidemic has decimated the family. He goes to St Louis (1921) and works with local orchestras: Fate Marable and Charlie Creath, with whom he records playing the violin. But for two years, he will abandon music, having obtained a job in a foundry.

In 1925 he won a competition organized by the record company Okeh. He became one of the house musicians, for which he recorded a lot, in particular with Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Eddie Lang, Victoria Spivey. For several years, starting in 1932, he performed with the orchestra of the pianist singer Putney Dandridge in the Cleveland region more or less regularly. In 1937 we found him in Chicago, where he frequently plays at Three Deuces, often with Johnny Dodds.

Starting in the 1940s, he mainly produced himself as a solo singer, accompanying himself with the electric Guitar. In 1948 his album Tomorrow Night got a great success. But in the 1950s, he was no longer a full-time musician; we find it in the kitchens of a hotel in Philadelphia.

He toured England playing with Humphrey Lyttelton (1952), returned to Europe with the American Folk Blues Festival in 1963, and settled in Toronto (1965), where he managed a club for a short time. He will not recover from a circulatory problem that occurred in 1969. he appears one last time in public (February 1970) for a blues concert at Massey Hall.

His instrumental technique, exceptional at the time, his refined sonority, melodic, and swing verve that he produces both as a soloist and an accompanist have made him a leading guitarist since the 1920s. He has exerted considerable influence on many younger musicians, notably Charlie Christian. As a singer, bluesman of the “urban type ", thanks to the precise diction, he is far from the" rural "harsh accent.
​
[A.C., J.P.D.]
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