Johnny Hodges on soprano
The secret titan of the soprano sax
John Cornelius “Johnny” Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) held the alto chair in Duke Ellington’s orchestra from late 1928 until his death in 1970, save for a brief stint in the early 50’s when he struck out on his own. Known mostly for his ground breaking and influential alto saxophone style, he originally played soprano saxophone and clarinet in addition to alto, having been mentored by the great Sidney Bechet whom he modeled his sound and approach on. Hodges can be heard on soprano from his earliest sessions with Ellington in late 1928, both on solos and in the ensemble, up until he laid the horn down in 1940 with many stand out selections from various small ensemble sessions in the mid-30’s both under his leadership as well as alongside other Ellington sidemen like Rex Stewart and Cootie Williams.
Hodges in the studio with Cootie Williams and Harry Carney, Lawrence Brown is likely the trombonist who is cut off at right
Many discographies that list Hodges’ output do not differentiate which tracks he plays each horn, often times just listing all the instruments he played on each session. I have been going through these discographies and listening to every track he potentially recorded on soprano and I am compiling a comprehensive list of sides where Hodges takes a solo or prominent obligato on soprano. So far I’m finding that many sessions comprised of 3 or 4 tunes often with multiple takes of each tune where Hodges often plays soprano only on the final tune of the session. There are a couple of outliers where he plays soprano for the entirety of a session, typically these are small group recordings from the mid 30s. I will eventually publish that list here when it is complete but for now I figured I might share some of his most prominent solos on the straight horn for your enjoyment.
The Sheik of Araby - 1932
Beginning around 1:26, this soprano solo is Johnny Hodges’ interpretation of a famous chorus played by his mentor Sidney Bechet. I’m not sure if there is a recording of Bechet playing this chorus, if there is I would love to hear it*! According to David Berger on his website, Hodges took a lesson with Bechet the night before this session due to being nervous for the feature. This solo is a popular one that has been transcribed and reproduced in many commercially available reconstructions of this Ellington arrangement and is a common solo for soprano aficionados to study. It has many hallmarks of Bechet’s early style and Hodges delivery is distinct from his later alto style.
*Update July 9th 2024: I somehow missed that Bechet played this chorus on his 1941 recording of Sheik in which he played every instrument, one of the early examples of overdubbing. Bechet plays the solo on tenor saxophone during the final chorus of that recording.
Jeep’s Blues - 1938
This small group recording from 1938 features Hodges prominently on soprano with solos from Cootie Williams, Harry Carney, and Lawrence Brown. This recording was a hit for Ellington and was recorded several times by the Ellington band and by Hodges during his brief solo excursion in the 50’s. These later recordings eschew the soprano, as Hodges only recorded on alto after 1940, this original recording highlights his elegant blues playing and begins to separate Hodges approach to the soprano from Bechet’s, employing much less dramatic a vibrato and utilizing large scoops that would be a staple of his alto style as his career developed.
Blue Goose - 1940
These sessions from 1939-40 with the famous “Blanton-Webster” era of the Ellignton Orchestra are probably the highest fidelity recordings of Hodges’ soprano playing. On Blue Goose Hodges’ gives us the melody in and out of the tune sandwiching beautiful solos several members of the orchestra. It’s a shame that Hodges did not get more solo space on soprano in this era but there are several tunes where he features prominently on melodies and ensembles. The loss of Hodges’ soprano playing was, for me, greater in terms of the ensemble sound. There is a brilliance to many of the large voicings that is lost later on.
That’s the Blues Old Man - 1940
This is the final recording of Johnny Hodges on soprano saxophone. Recorded in November of 1940 and released the next year this recording, originally issued under Johnny Hodges & His Orchestra, is in fact a small group drawn from the Ellington orchestra. This is another great document of his blues playing, a well paced solo based on riffs and delivered with a full and luscious tone. There is no fluff here it’s a lean reading of the blues and it serves as a worthy final effort on the instrument.
For reasons that we may never understand Hodges put down the soprano after these sessions and never recorded on the horn again. The last confirmed performance of Johnny Hodges on soprano comes from Bob Wilber’s book “Music Was Not Enough” (MacMillan 1987) in which he recounts Hodges sitting in with his group:
"One night at the club stands out in my memory. The Ellington band was in Boston, playing at a local theater. One evening after they had finished their last show, some of the boys from the band, including Johnny Hodges, came over to Storyville. They sat at a table in front of the bandstand and, spying my straight soprano, urged Johnny to sit in. He demurred, saying that he hadn't played the instrument for a long time. In fact the last time he'd played soprano had been back in 1940, some ten years earlier. Finally, after much persuasion, Johnny was literally pushed onto the bandstand. He picked up my soprano, looked at the mouthpiece and saw that it had a soprano reed on it. He asked me, "Gotta clarinet reed?" I pointed to an open box of reeds sitting on top of the piano. Without saying a word, he removed the soprano reed, reached into the box and took out one at random. He didn't bother looking at it or wetting it or anything. He simply stuck it on the mouthpiece, tightened the ligature, put the horn to his mouth, and started playing the blues – slow and stately, with that beautiful tone. It didn't have the earthiness of Bechet's blues, but you could hear the influence, the soaring lyricism. I was absolutely amazed, considering that he hadn't played the soprano for so long. What an incredible natural player!"
And thus those lucky audience members in attendance that night are likely to have been the last people to ever hear Hodges play the soprano saxophone. In the coming months I hope to finish the discography and begin transcribing some of these notable solos, which if my schedule permits, I’ll be able to share here for anyone interested. Until next time!