Plas Johnson, the big soulful sounding, hard bop tenor saxist passed away on July 15 at the age of 94. Although best known as the tenor soloist on Mancini's Pink Panther Theme he was also widely heard across other genres.
My personal discovery goes back to a 1955 Capitol album Session at Midnight. An all-star affair that included Harry Edison, Benny Carter, Willie Smith and other Hollywood A-Listers.
On Moten Swing, Johnson's tenor burst from the ensemble firing on all cylinders and I was sold - he did the same throughout most of the album. The way he hit Stompin' at the Savoy with a Ben Webster-like entrance that wrapped the track up, validated the quote from the sleeve: " ...young in years (twenty-four) but not in concept and technique. Plas is one of the country's most promising tenor men."
He lived up to that promise.
Rest In Peace
Lance
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