The Great Kai & J. J.

The Great Kai & J. J.
Studio album by Kai Winding, J. J. Johnson
Released	1961
Recorded	October 3 and November 2, 4 & 8, 1960 Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs
Genre	Jazz
Length	42:12
Label	Impulse! A-1
Producer	Creed Taylor
Kai Winding chronology
Dance to the City Beat (1959) The Great Kai & J. J. (1961) The Incredible Kai Winding Trombones (1961)
J. J. Johnson chronology
J.J. Inc. (1960) The Great Kai & J. J. (1961) A Touch of Satin (1961)

The Great Kai & J. J. is an album by American jazz trombonists Kai Winding and J. J. Johnson featuring performances recorded in 1960 as the very first release for the Impulse! label (A-1 for the mono LP, AS-1 for the stereo one).^[1]

Reception

The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "the music still sounds fresh and lively".^[2]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]

Track listing

1. "This Could Be the Start of Something Big" (Steve Allen) — 3:13
2. "Georgia on My Mind" (Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell) — 3:52
3. "Blue Monk" (Monk) — 4:31
4. "Judy" (J. J. Johnson) — 4:06
5. "Alone Together" (Howard Dietz, Arthur Schwartz) — 3:36
6. "Side by Side" (Harry M. Woods) — 3:06
7. "I Concentrate on You" (Porter) — 4:03
8. "Theme from Picnic" (Allen, Duning) — 4:05
9. "Trixie" (Johnson) — 5:10
10. "Going, Going, Gong!" (Winding) — 3:11
11. "Just for a Thrill" (Lil Hardin Armstrong, Don Raye) — 3:19

Recorded on October 3, 1960 (track 1), November 2, 1960 (tracks 3, 6, 7), November 4, 1960 (tracks 5, 8, 10, 11) and November 8, 1960 (tracks 2, 4, 9)

Personnel

• J. J. Johnson, Kai Winding – trombone
• Bill Evans – piano
• Paul Chambers (tracks 1, 3, 6, 7); Tommy Williams (tracks 2, 4, 5 & 8-11) – bass
• Roy Haynes (tracks 1, 3, 6, 7); Art Taylor (tracks 2, 4, 5 & 8-11) – drums

References

1. Impulse! Records discography accessed March 15, 2011
2. Yanow, S. Allmusic Review accessed March 15, 2011