Johnny Bothwell

Alto saxophonist Johnny Bothwell became a major figure in the mid-1940s progressive jazz scene, first working with Boyd Raeburn’s band and later forming his own. Like many who tried to sell progressive jazz to the public, though, Bothwell failed to find commercial acceptance, and he ended up quitting the music business at the end of the decade.

Bothwell got his start in the Chicago jazz scene during the late 1930s. In 1940, he played with Max Miller’s sextet and Bill Fryar’s orchestra. Over the next few years he worked variously for Paul Jordan, Bob Chester, Gene Krupa, Woody Herman, Sonny Dunham, and Tommy Dorsey, earning a reputation as a top musician. Bothwell finished third in Down Beat magazine’s 1943 poll in the category of best alto saxophone player.

Raeburn Years

In early 1944, Raeburn brought in Bothwell as a key part of his newly reorganized progressive jazz orchestra, with Bothwell becoming Raeburn’s featured soloist and assistant. Bothwell’s smooth sax playing proved the highlight of Raeburn’s sound, and during his stay with Raeburn he received several offers to front his own band but turned them down. Raeburn reciprocated by allowing Bothwell to record under his own name in early 1945 with members of the orchestra on the Signature label using several of the band’s arrangements. Those recordings were not released until 1946 however.

In early July 1945, Bothwell and Raeburn had a major falling out, and Bothwell left the band. According to Raeburn, Bothwell had a near fistfight with one of the other musicians. Raeburn complained to Down Beat that Bothwell had a superior attitude and liked to insult band members. Raeburn also criticized Bothwell’s playing and accused him of stealing arrangements when he departed.^[1] Bothwell responded:

Well, how dramatic can a bandleader be about a sax player leaving his band? Can sidemen be that hard to get? In addition to the numerous aspersions, allegations and accusations, I must say [Raeburn] forgot to mention that I frequently have been known to remove baby three-toed sloths from their mothers at a startling indecent age and, upon occasion, I have been seen leading submarine wolf packs up and down the Mississippi River in search of hapless Eskimo kayaks!

In 1948, Bothwell clarified that he did take arrangements with him when he left, saying “I took tunes written around me, with the understanding they were mine.” Raeburn vocalist Claire Hogan followed Bothwell out of the band. The two had become romantically involved and married soon after, with Hogan becoming his fourth wife.

As Bandleader

Bothwell briefly worked with Krupa again before forming a short-lived sextet in late 1945. The combo opened November 1 at Three Deuces on 52nd Street in New York and recorded on Signature. While working with the combo, Bothwell also recorded on Signature with a band of all-stars, which included Harry Carney, Ray Nance, and Shelly Manne, with Hogan and a singing group led by Dave Lambert providing vocals. Bothwell broke up the combo in December and took a vacation in Florida. In early 1946, the recordings Bothwell made under his own name with Raeburn’s band were released to good reviews, followed by the all-star band recordings.

When Bothwell returned from vacation, he proceeded to organize a full orchestra, going into rehearsals in February. In March, he recorded two sides with the new group for Signature, and in May he took the band on the road, touring New England that month. Hogan supplied female vocals, with close friend and former Raeburn band mate Don Darcy joining as male vocalist. Trumpet players Marty Bell and Pete Carlisle also sang, and Bothwell occasionally took a number himself.

Though the new band featured adventurous jazz along the lines of Charlie Ventura and Stan Kenton, Bothwell also deliberately focused on modern dance rhythms in order to be more commercially acceptable. The orchestra, however, lacked talented musicians and failed to live up to the excitement it initially caused. Mostly ignored by the press after its debut, the band struggled. Darcy left in early January 1947, and Signature dropped the group in March, buying out the remaining eight months of Bothwell’s contract.^[2] Going nowhere, Bothwell disbanded in November. That same month, the musician’s union put him on their unfair list and revoked his card until he settled debts. He and Hogan also divorced.

In December, Bothwell headed to Chicago to record on the Vitacoustic label with a new small band. He remained active for the next two years, putting together small groups and orchestras for various occasions, including a sweet bop combo and a full progressive jazz orchestra featuring young musicians. By 1950, though, he had left the music business altogether. He moved to Connecticut where he became a radio salesman for General Electric. He made a brief return to music in 1955, joining a new dance band put together by Raeburn. Bothwell later operated his own photography business in Florida. Bothwell suffered a stroke in the mid-1980s and passed away in 1995.

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