DAVID EARLE JOHNSON & FRIENDS
Unreleased Cassette recordings from
the personal archive of David Earle Johnson.
Live performances, jam sessions, and informal recordings spanning the 1970s–1990s. Released exactly as they were found.
New tapes are added regularly.
Each cassette is presented as it was labeled, with whatever information was written on it at the time.
FRIENDS
Art Blakely, Billy Cobham, Lenny White, Miroslav Vitouš, Oregon, Taj Mahal, Jeremy Steig, Bruce Hampton, Clive Stevens, Herbie Mann , Lenny White, Jan Hammer, Jaroslav Jakubovics, Mark Moogy Klingmans and many more.
TITLE: Latin Jazz Quintet
SIDE: A
DATE: 12 \ 01 \ 1979
LOCATION: South Carolina
TITLE: Billy’s Last Night
SIDE: B
DATE: 11 \ 27 \ 1976
LOCATION: New York
TITLE: Billy’s Last Night
SIDE: A
DATE: 11 \ 27 \ 1976
LOCATION: New York
DAVID EARLE JOHNSON
(1938–1998) was a percussionist, composer, and producer whose work sat at the intersection of jazz, fusion, and experimentation.
Born in Florence, South Carolina, he made his way to New York and became a sought-after collaborator, recording with Billy Cobham, Jan Hammer, Lenny White, Miroslav Vitouš, Oregon, Taj Mahal, and many others. He played on Jan Hammer's ‘The First Seven Days’, contributed to the ‘Empire Strikes Back’ soundtrack, and released a string of solo albums beginning with ‘Time Is Free’ (Vanguard, 1978).
His rare Nigerian Log Drums were sampled—without permission—for the iconic ‘Miami Vice’ theme. The resulting lawsuit was one of the first of its kind to address sampling rights in music. He lost the case, but his sounds live on in one of the most recognizable TV themes ever made.
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