Services for Ralph Johnson

Arts & Entertainment, City Life

December 10th, 2009

from Preservation Hall

Rest in Peace, Ralph Johnson (1938-2009)
Sad news today [December 7,
2009]. A much-loved member of our family has passed. Ralph Johnson,
clarinet player here at Preservation Hall and on the road with the
Preservation Hall Jazz Band for nearly twenty years, died early this
morning. He was a wonderful human being and will be missed very much.

Please
follow this link to listen to Mr. Johnson’s lovely playing on a recent
rendition of the Sidney Bechet classic, Le Petit Fleur…

Ralph Johnson, clarinet
Born August 24, 1938
Died December 7, 2009
Played with: Jerry Butler, the Impressions, Dr. John, Wallace Davenport, Johnny Adams, Chuck Carbo

Services to be held at
St. Peter Claver Church
1923 St. Philip Street
Friday, December 11

Viewing from 9am – 11am
Mass at 11am

Musicians
teemed through the Sixth Ward district where Ralph Johnson was raised.
His father, Son Johnson, was a clarinetist; when he handed the
instrument to his son when Ralph was seven years old, the moment
embedded itself in Ralph’s memory as a solemn rite of passage. Still,
making music proved anything but solemn for the young artist, who has
since spent decades onstage with New Orleans artists of every style.
Playing all reed instruments as well as flute and piano, he performed
on his first gig at thirteen — he had to lie about his age to even be
allowed into the 21 and over venue. His connection to Preservation Hall
dates back to appearances there with drummer Chester Jones and other
bandleaders. For more than ten years Johnson has been a beloved member
of the Preservation Hall band, in which he carries on the great
traditions of clarinet artistry established in years past by Willie
Humphrey and George Lewis.

“Preservation Hall is a place where
you can play what’s in your soul and make people happy. It’s not about
playing for yourself; it’s playing to see a smile. The more smiles I
see, the happier I am. When you play this music, you let your spirit
go. You let your spirit say what it has to say. You play your heart out
for the people because it makes you happy, just like it makes them
happy. That’s all that you can do. Why waste this precious time in your
life doing anything that doesn’t make people smile?” “I’ve played it
all — rock & roll, straight-ahead — because all of it, all music,
is made by God, not man. That’s why I love the whole picture.”

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