J. J. Johnson Solos: Trombone Book

Johnson selected these solos himself as the true highlights of his recorded legacy, which means you're getting insight into what he considered his own best work. The repertoire spans standards, bebop classics, and blues forms, giving students multiple harmonic and stylistic contexts to master within one book. For advanced players working toward a jazz degree or serious gig preparation, this is unfiltered access to how one of the instrument's architects actually approached these tunes.

Sophisticated and conversational. These solos invite you into a musical dialogue rather than demanding virtuosity for its own sake. You'll move between the swagger of bebop, the introspection of ballads, and the earthy groove of blues, all while maintaining Johnson's hallmark clarity and warmth of tone.

Intermediate and advanced trombonists seeking to develop their jazz chops beyond basic ensemble reading. If you're preparing for auditions, working toward performance in a jazz combo, or building a serious jazz repertoire, these solos represent essential material from one of the instrument's defining voices.

• Study the recorded versions first. Johnson's phrasing and tone are inseparable from these solos; listening repeatedly before touching the horn trains your ear for the particular way he shapes phrases and lands on chord tones.
• Build facility with the blues vocabulary across these pieces. The blues changes appear multiple times in different keys, and mastering Johnson's approach to reharmonization and call-and-response patterns will unlock your own improvisation.
• Treat the rubato passages with rhythmic precision even when the feel seems loose. Johnson's relaxed sound comes from absolute control, not imprecision; the written rhythms matter.
• Work on articulation subtlety. Johnson's legato attack and his ability to float notes in and out of phrases are hallmarks of his style. Don't over-tongue these solos.

Assign individual solos as semester-long projects in a jazz combo or trombone studio class, pairing the written solo with transcription work on the recording. These also work beautifully as recital pieces for advanced students, either as solo features with accompaniment or as part of a broader jazz program showcasing different eras and styles.

• Bebop phrasing and articulation techniques
• Blues form navigation and harmonic targeting
• Jazz ballad interpretation and rubato control
• Listening-to-notation transfer (learning from recorded models)
• Improvisation vocabulary across multiple harmonic contexts
• Trombone-specific jazz articulation and tone production