The Great Kai & J. J.

The Great Kai & J. J.
The Great Kai & J. J.
Studio album by Kai Winding and J. J. Johnson
Released	1960
Recorded	October 3 and November 2, 4 & 8, 1960; Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs
Genre	Jazz
Length	42:12
Label	Impulse!; A-1
Producer	Creed Taylor
Kai Winding chronology
J. J. Johnson chronology

The Great Kai & J. J. is an album by American jazz trombonists Kai Winding and J. J. Johnson featuring performances recorded in 1960 as the first release for the Impulse! label (A-1 for the mono LP, AS-1 for the stereo one).^[1]

Reception

The Penguin Guide comments that this release, recorded in 1960, "was a commercially motivated reunion, some time after the partnership had been amicably dissolved." It goes on to compliment the musicianship, paying particular notice to Bill Evans' playing, which gives it the feel of "a proper group project rather than a trombone feature with accompaniment."^[2] Scott Yanow of AllMusic stated "the music still sounds fresh and lively".^[3]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[3]
Penguin Guide to Jazz	^[2]

Track listing

"This Could Be the Start of Something Big" (Steve Allen) — 3:13
"Georgia on My Mind" (Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell) — 3:52
"Blue Monk" (Monk) — 4:31
"Judy" (J. J. Johnson) — 4:06
"Alone Together" (Howard Dietz, Arthur Schwartz) — 3:36
"Side by Side" (Harry M. Woods) — 3:06
"I Concentrate on You" (Porter) — 4:03
"Theme from Picnic" (Allen, Duning) — 4:05
"Trixie" (Johnson) — 5:10
"Going, Going, Gong!" (Winding) — 3:11
"Just for a Thrill" (Lil Hardin Armstrong, Don Raye) — 3:19

Recorded on October 3, 1960 (track 1), November 2, 1960 (tracks 3, 6, 7), November 4, 1960 (tracks 5, 8, 10, 11) and November 8, 1960 (tracks 2, 4, 9)

Personnel

J. J. Johnson, Kai Winding – trombone
Bill Evans – piano
Paul Chambers (tracks 1, 3, 6, 7); Tommy Williams (tracks 2, 4, 5 & 8-11) – bass
Roy Haynes (tracks 1, 3, 6, 7); Art Taylor (tracks 2, 4, 5 & 8-11) – drums

References

^ Impulse! Records discography accessed March 15, 2011
^ ^a ^b Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). New York: Penguin. p. 787. ISBN 978-0-14-103401-0.
^ ^a ^b Yanow, S. Allmusic Review accessed March 15, 2011