Johnny Beecher (Plas Johnson) - Sax 5th Ave.

Beecher's Bossa Nova


JOHNNY BEECHER (Plas Johnson)
Sax 5th Ave.
1963

256+ VBR LAME mp3
Vinyl rip & scans from Charter CLM-102


Whether you're familiar with the name Plas Johnson or not, one thing is certain: you've heard his sax more times than you can possibly count - and that's just when it comes to his lead on the The Pink Panther Theme. In fact, odds are that those 4 bars popped into your head the moment you finished reading that sentence, didn't they? Then factor in his session work on signature recordings by names like Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Buddy Holly, Bill Haley & The Comets, Beach Boys, Frank Zappa, The Monkees, Blue Mitchell, Marvin Gaye, Willie Hutch, Shuggie Otis, Leon Ware, Les McCann, Bobby Hutcherson, Roy Ayers, Steely Dan, Boz Scaggs, Maria Muldaur plus dozens more over the past 50 years and it's likely that regardless of your tastes, his playing has been a prominent part of your musical enjoyment. If you want to learn more about this living legend check out the short 'n' sweet bio on Space Age Pop Music or, even better, head on over to his excellent website.

The Plas Panther

Although neither of the LPs he did under the nom de plume Johnny Beecher have been reissued, all the tracks are available on the combined Blue Moon compilations The Warm Sounds of Plas Johnson Tenor Sax. Word to the wise: apparently they are unlicensed bootlegs with no royalties going to Plas, so if supporting the artist is a priority in your hard-copy purchasing decisions then caveat emptor. Note that this album has no connection to the recent posthumous Teo Macero disc with an identical title outside of them both covering the Eddie Harris track for which the albums are named.

While the first side could certainly be called smooth jazz for the 60s thanks to all the sultry sax on these smoky ballads and silky standards, Plas and pals kick it into gear on the second side. Not only does the pace pick up but the solos from vibist Emil Richards (who's been featured here on Soundological before) and organist Bert Kendrix on boppish tracks like Artie Shaw's "Summit Ridge Drive" or PJ originals "Scrips 'n' Scraps" and "The Spirited Gim Bulls." In fact, for a guy who made quite the comfy career out of his interpretation of others' compositions, it's somewhat surprising, and certainly satisfying, to hear his tracks outshine a couple of the popular classics on the same album.

Sax 5th Ave.

Dusty Groove review
An obscure session from Plas Johnson -- recording here away from Capitol, under another name, quite possibly for contractual reasons! The album's got the gentle groove of Plas' best records of the time -- deep deep tenor sax solos, recorded in a moody, echoey, late nite setting -- all augmented by small combo instrumentation that includes vibes by Emil Richards, bass by Jimmy Bond, and organ by Bert Kendrix. Titles include "Summit Ridge Drive", "Beecher's Bossa Nova", "May Cees Blues", "The Spirited Gim Blues", and "Sax Fifth Avenue".


Johnny Beecher (Plas Johnson) - Sax
Earl Palmer - Drums
Wayne Robinson - Drums
Emil Richards - Vibes
Jimmy Bond - Bass
Bert Kendrix - Organ


1 Reveries
2 Star Dust
3 Diane
4 Flamingo
5 Lonely Feeling
6 Sax Fifth Avenue
7 Summit Ridge Drive
8 Scrips 'n' Scraps
9 Beecher's Bossa Nova
10 The Spirited Gim Bulls
11 May Cees Blues
12 Cherokee

-DISCOGRAPHY-


1956 Plas Johnson
(a.k.a. Drum Stuff / Drum Suite / Screamin' Sax!)



1956 Bop Me Daddy



1959 Mood For The Blues
at Licorice Pizza



1959 This Must Be the Plas


1963 Sax 5th Ave. (as Johnny Beecher)
at Soundological



1963 On The Scene (as Johnny Beecher)



1964 Blue Martini
at Portal of Groove



1975 The Blues



1976 Positively
at Licorice Pizza / showmethebesthiphop
(both links dead, anyone have now?)


1983 L.A. (1955) (with the Grease Patrol)



1990 Hot Blue & Saxy



1999 Evening Delight



2000 Christmas in Hollywood



2001 Keep That Groove Going! (with Red Holloway)



2008 All Blues (with Ernie Watts)



-COMPILATIONS-


1983 Rockin' With The Plas: The Capitol Singles



1996 Warm Sound of Plas Johnson Vol 1
Midnight Blues



1996 Warm Sound of Plas Johnson Vol 2
Madison Avenue Strut



2000 The Best of Plas Johnson: The King of Sax

Shop for your star-studded sax at Soundological HERE or HERE.