John Cornelius Hodges was born on July 25, 1907, and died on May 11, 1970. He was an American alto saxophonist who is most famous for his solo performances with Duke Ellington's big band. Hodges played the lead alto saxophone in the saxophone section for many years. He also played the soprano saxophone, but he stopped playing it after 1940. Along with Benny Carter, Hodges is considered one of the most important alto saxophone players during the big band era.

Hodges began his career as a teenager in Boston. He later moved to New York and played with musicians such as Lloyd Scott, Sidney Bechet, Luckey Roberts, and Chick Webb. In 1928, when Duke Ellington wanted to grow his band, his clarinet player, Barney Bigard, suggested Hodges. Hodges' music became a key part of the Ellington orchestra. From 1951 to 1955, Hodges left the Duke Ellington band to lead his own group. He returned shortly before Ellington's return to fame, which happened during the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival performance.

Biography

John Cornelius Hodges was born in the Cambridgeport area in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to John H. Hodges and Katie Swan Hodges, who were both from Virginia. After living briefly in North Cambridge, the family moved to Hammond Street in the South End of Boston, where Hodges grew up. He lived near saxophonists Harry Carney, Charlie Holmes, and Howard E. Johnson. Carney later became a member of Duke Ellington’s big band. Hodges first learned to play the drums and piano. Although his mother was a skilled pianist, Hodges mostly taught himself.

When Hodges became skilled enough, he played the piano at private dances for $8 each evening. By his teenage years, he had begun playing the soprano saxophone. Around this time, Hodges earned the nickname "Rabbit." Some people say the name came from his ability to run fast in races and avoid truant officers, while others, including Carney, believe it was because he ate lettuce and tomato sandwiches in a way that resembled a rabbit’s nibbling.

At age 14, Hodges went with his eldest sister to see Sidney Bechet perform in a Boston burlesque hall. His sister introduced Hodges to Bechet, who asked him to play the soprano saxophone he carried. Hodges played "My Honey's Lovin' Arms," and Bechet was impressed. Bechet encouraged Hodges to continue playing and gave him formal saxophone lessons. Hodges became well-known in Boston before moving to New York City in 1924.

Hodges joined Duke Ellington’s orchestra in November 1928. He was a key member of the Ellington Band who performed at Benny Goodman’s 1938 Carnegie Hall concert. Goodman called Hodges "by far the greatest man on alto sax that I ever heard." Charlie Parker referred to him as "the Lily Pons of his instrument." John Coltrane considered Hodges his first model on the saxophone, calling him “the world's greatest saxophone player.”

Ellington often wrote songs specifically for members of his orchestra, including Hodges. These songs include "Confab with Rab," "Jeep's Blues," "Sultry Sunset," and "Hodge Podge." Other songs by the Ellington Orchestra that highlight Hodges’s smooth alto saxophone style are "Magenta Haze," "Prelude to a Kiss," "Haupe" (from Anatomy of a Murder), "Flirtibird," "The Star-Crossed Lovers" from Such Sweet Thunder, "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)," "Blood Count," and "Passion Flower."

Hodges was known for his pure tone and simple, clear melodies in both blues and ballads. Musicians like Ben Webster, John Coltrane, and Lawrence Welk admired his work. Hodges’s unique style, which included a wide vibrato and sliding between notes, influenced many other musicians. Songs named after him, such as those by Ellington, led to the nicknames "Jeep" and "Rabbit." Johnny Griffin said Hodges looked like a rabbit, with no expression on his face while playing beautiful music.

Saxophones

In the 1940s, Hodges played a Conn 6M saxophone, which had a special key system located on the bottom of the neck. Later, he used a Buescher 400 alto saxophone, known for its V-shaped support on the bell. By the late 1960s, Hodges was playing a Vito LeBlanc Rationale alto saxophone (serial number 2551A). This instrument had a unique key system that allowed for different ways to press the keys and a special arrangement of tone holes, which improved the sound quality. Fewer than 2,000 of these saxophones were ever made. Hodges’s instrument was covered in silver and had detailed carvings on the bell, bow, body, and key cups.

Death

Hodges's final performances took place at the Imperial Room in Toronto, less than a week before his death on May 11, 1970, from a heart attack that occurred during a visit to a dental surgeon's office. His last recordings were included on the New Orleans Suite, a work that was only partially completed when he died. He was married twice. His first wife, Bertha Pettiford, was the mother of his daughter. His second wife, Edith Cue, was the mother of his son, John C. Hodges II, and his daughter, Lorna Lee.

After learning of Hodges's death, Ellington told JET magazine, "The band will never sound the same without Johnny." In his tribute to Hodges, Ellington said, "He was not the most energetic performer or the most famous on stage, but his sound was so beautiful it sometimes made people cry. This was Johnny Hodges. This is Johnny Hodges."

Discography

• 1946: Passion Flower (RCA) with Willie Cook, Roy Eldridge, Quentin Jackson, Russell Procope, Ben Webster, Sam Woodyard
• 1951: Caravan (Prestige) with Taft Jordan, Harold Baker, Juan Tizol, Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Oscar Pettiford, Sonny Greer
• 1951–52: Castle Rock (Norgran)
• 1952: In a Tender Mood (Norgran)
• 1952–54: The Blues (Norgran)
• 1951–54: More of Johnny Hodges (Norgran)
• 1951–54: Memories of Ellington (Norgran), also released as In a Mellow Tone
• 1954: Used to Be Duke (Norgran)
• 1952–55: Dance Bash (Norgran), also released as Perdido
• 1955: Creamy (Norgran)
• 1956: Ellingtonia '56 (Norgran)
• 1956: Duke's in Bed (Verve)
• 1957: The Big Sound (Verve)
• 1958: Blues A-Plenty (Verve)
• 1958: Not So Dukish (Verve)
• 1959: Johnny Hodges and His Strings Play the Prettiest Gershwin (Verve)
• 1959: Back to Back: Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges Play the Blues (Verve) with Duke Ellington
• 1959: Side by Side (Verve) with Duke Ellington
• 1960: A Smooth One (Verve)
• 1960: Gerry Mulligan Meets Johnny Hodges (Verve) with Gerry Mulligan
• 1961: Blue Hodge (Verve) with Wild Bill Davis
• 1961: Johnny Hodges with Billy Strayhorn and the Orchestra (Verve)
• 1961: Johnny Hodges at Sportpalast Berlin (Pablo) with Ray Nance, Lawrence Brown, Al Williams
• 1962: The Eleventh Hour (Verve) arranged and conducted by Oliver Nelson
• 1963: Buenos Aires Blues (Johnny Hodges Quintet with Lalo Schifrin on piano)
• 1963: Sandy's Gone (Verve)
• 1963: Mess of Blues (Verve) with Wild Bill Davis
• 1964: Everybody Knows Johnny Hodges (Impulse!)
• 1964: Blue Rabbit (Verve) with Wild Bill Davis
• 1965: Con-Soul & Sax (RCA Victor) with Wild Bill Davis
• 1965: Joe's Blues (Verve) with Wild Bill Davis
• 1965: Wings & Things (Verve) with Wild Bill Davis
• 1965: Inspired Abandon (Impulse!) with Lawrence Brown
• 1966: Stride Right (Verve) with Earl Hines
• 1966: Blue Pyramid (Verve) with Wild Bill Davis
• 1966: Wild Bill Davis & Johnny Hodges in Atlantic City (RCA Victor) with Wild Bill Davis
• 1966: Blue Notes (Verve)
• 1967: Triple Play (RCA Victor)
• 1967: Don't Sleep in the Subway (Verve)
• 1967: Swing's Our Thing (Verve) with Earl Hines
• 1968: Rippin' & Runnin' (Verve)
• 1970: 3 Shades of Blue (Flying Dutchman) with Leon Thomas and Oliver Nelson

• Inspired Abandon (Impulse!, 1965) – listed as part of Lawrence Brown's All-Stars
• Hawkins! Eldridge! Hodges! Alive! At the Village Gate! (Verve, 1962)
• Joya Sherrill Sings Duke (20th Century Fox, 1965)
• Cue for Saxophone (Felsted, 1959)
• Taylor Made Jazz (Argo, 1959)
• Duke with a Difference (Riverside, 1957)