Jazz
Billy Johnson
About Billy Johnson
Genre
Jazz
Recording credits for the jazz bassist Billy Johnson began in the early '80s when he was accompanying the great singer Abbey Lincoln. He appears on some of her recordings from this period such as Talking to the Sun. This bassist is frequently confused with a variety of other musicians named Billy Johnson, Bill Johnson, William Johnson, et-Johnson-tera. So, for example, he is not the same bassist who played on the meeting of Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley in the early '60s.
He is also not the drummer Johnson who played with Santana, nor the guitarist of the same name who also played with Santana, although not at the same time as the drummer. What bassist Billy Johnson did do was collaborate with bandleaders such as Marc Cary, Fred Hammond, and Abraham Burton. The 1997 Common project combined his jazz sensibilities with current trends in hip-hop and R&B. ~ Eugene Chadbourne
