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David Earle Johnson
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Early photograph of David Earle Johnson.

Early photograph of David Earle Johnson.

Early photograph of David Earle Johnson.

Early photograph of David Earle Johnson in session with Jan Hammer during the Time is Free period.

Early photograph of David Earle Johnson with Jan Hammer during the Time is Free period.

Colonel Bruce Hampton - Jazz and experimental guitarist.

John Abercrombie - Jazz and progressive guitarist

Dan Wall - Jazz keyboardist

Landslide Records releases out of print Jazz albums digitally by Dan Wall, David Earle Johnson, and John Abercrombie

Landslide Records is proud to announce an exclusive digital only release, Route Two (LDCD-1003), from a jazz trio led by the late percussionist David Earle Johnson with notable guitarist John Abercrombie and powerful organist Dan Wall.

1977 release Time Is Free front cover. Art by Evelyne Morisot.

1977 release Time Is Free rear cover.

1977 release Time Is Free Side 1 label.

1979 release Skin Deep Yeah! front cover. Art by Evelyne Morisot.

1979 release Skin Deep Yeah! rear cover. Art by Evelyne Morisot.

1979 release Skin Deep Yeah! Side 1 label. Art by Evelyne Morisot.

1980 release Hip Address front cover. Art by Evelyne Morisot.

1980 release Hip Address rear cover. Art by Evelyne Morisot.

1980 release Hip Address Side 1 label.

1980 release Hip Address Side 2 label.

1981 release Route Two front cover.

1981 release Route Two rear cover.

1983 release The Midweek Blues front cover.

1983 release The Midweek Blues rear cover.

1983 release The Midweek Blues Side 2.

1986 release The Feelings Mutual by The Beautiful Earth Jazz Band.

1993 release White Latining front cover. Art by Evelyne Morisot.

1993 release White Latining rear cover. Art by Evelyne Morisot.

1993 release White Latining CD label. Art by Evelyne Morisot.

1993 release White Latining insert booklet cover and rear. Art by Evelyne Morisot.

1993 release White Latining insert booklet Page 01-02. Art by Evelyne Morisot.

1993 release White Latining insert booklet Page 03-04. Art by Evelyne Morisot.

1993 release White Latining insert booklet Page 05-06. Art by Evelyne Morisot.

French born artist and wife of David Earl Johnson, Evelyne Morisot passed in November of 2018. She leaves with us her Art and impressions which are on display at the Nutshell Art Center in New York and 4 beautiful and talented children.

My wife never ceases to amaze me and that includes her family. She is related to French artists, multi award winning French film and video producers, (Give it away now!), Sundance Film Festival actors, African cultural preservationists, West coast music producers and lastly, she was the second cousin of the man for whom this showcase is dedicated to, David Earle Johnson.

 

I met David Earle while he and his family had moved down from New York to live in Elloree, SC. During this time David was recording with jazz legends from up and down the East coast slowly compiling a healthy catalog of music steeped in progressive and experimental jazz. Early on I was listening to his albums and using them as music backtracks during my guitar practice exercises so I came to know and respect his material and his rhythmic and songwriting style.

A lot of his early work was done with legendary progressive keyboardist, Jan Hammer, although the two would part ways over an issue concerning Hammer’s sampling and use of David Earle’s unique drum sounds which were used in the intro music to the television show Miami Vice. This court case would be one of the first of its kind concerning sampling rights. For that reason I have included with this showcase two documents worth reading: the Akron Law Review 1988-1989 research article and a Berkeley Technology Law Journal article from January 1989.

 

David Earle Johnson died of cancer in 1998 leaving behind a wife and four children and also my wife, who had great affection for him and thought the world of both he and his wife. He also left behind a short but brilliant career of music, which he created and recorded on his terms. His love of Jazz tempered with free form and deep discovery laid the foundation for some incredible work which is still musically progressive to this day. David Earle's music possessed an adventurous nature and anyone with a musical palette invested in more than the canned industry norm will appreciate it. I salute that creativity and I am very proud I had the opportunity to meet him and shake his hand.

From Wikipedia:

David Earle Johnson was born on April 10, 1938, the son of Earle H. Johnson and Lottie Ruth Troutman Johnson in Florence, SC. He was a percussionist, a composer and a music producer.

 

He appeared on Billy Cobhams’ Total Eclipse and Clive Stevens’ Voyage to Uranus (1974); Jan Hammers’ First Seven Days (1975); Lenny Whites’ Big City and Miroslav Vitouš' Majesty Music (1977); Jaroslav Jakubovics’ Checkin' In, Mark Moogy Klingmans’ Moogy II, the Players Associations’ Born to Dance, and Josh White Jr’s self-titled album (1978).

 

Johnson's solo debut came in 1978 with Time Is Free, recorded for Vanguard Records. His relationship with that label proved short-lived, however, and he began recording albums for other labels in subsequent years before his recording career slowed following his 1983 album, The Midweek Blues.

 

Jan Hammer produced and performed on most of these releases along with John Abercrombie, Jeremy Steig, Col. Bruce Hampton, Allen Sloan, Dan WallBilly McPherson (under the pseudonym Ben 'Pops' Thornton), and Gary Campbell.

 

Johnson was against the use of sampling, as Hammer used samples of his rare Nigerian Log Drums on the Miami Vice soundtrack without his permission. This resulted in a lawsuit, which Johnson ultimately lost.

 

He was married to French artist Evelyne Morisot, with whom he had four children. He died from cancer in 1998.

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Akron Law Review 1988-1989
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Berkeley Technology
Law Journal article January, 1989
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