"Marooned Musical," an excerpt from a collaboration between late trumpeter Keith Johnson and painter George D. Green.

"Marooned musical," Keith Johnson and George D. Green.

Register-Guard

Oregon native and trumpeterKeith Johnson, who died of cancer,leaves behind a musical legacy as a jazz mentor and longtime sideman playing with musicians such as Paul Butterfield, Martha Velez, Etta James and Van Morrison.

Born in Vancouver, British ColumbiaJohnson found love in jazz, art and life with his companion, Annie Painter. He diedApril 6 in Portland. He was 80.

Thanks to Johnson's influence, Jeff Young, owner and producer ofHands Down Soundrecording studio in Portland, developed a lifelong love of jazz.

Johnson was the DJ for a jazz show on KFMY, Eugene's first FM radio stationfounded by Young's father in 1958, according to Young. When Johnson left to start his professional music career, Young was obligated to take over the show. Young had the youthful Eugene jazz manto show him the way.

That was the beginning of my jazz-loving era, Young said. I've loved jazz ever since. I'm indebted to Keith for getting me turned on (to jazz).

Johnson and Painter married in 1961while attendingthe University of Oregon. They lived a settled life for 10 years before he landed a gig with the Paul Butterfield Band. Though it was a boon for Johnson's career, it would lead to the couple splitting soon after as Painter returned to anestablished life while Johnson continued on tour.

I was on the road a little bit, but lives changed, Painter said. I became a school principal and went back home to Eugene.

After her second husband, Bob, died, Painter reconnected with Johnson, Here comes Keith again, 50 years later. Painter flew to L.A. to make amends with Johnson in 2016, and the two hit it off on a lovely, platonic weekend.

It just seemed like perfect timing to get right back to business, Painter said, referring to getting back together.

We had a great five years, I swear. It's a big hole in my life," Painter said about him being gone."But I'm happy Im well-situated in the Northwest in this lovely apartment, forging on, as people do.

Johnson began as a lanky, 6-foot-4-inch-tall jazz aficionado who would hang out at a former record store at 13th Avenue and Alder Streetnear UO, Young said.

My dad was down there and met this young jazz lover who was a trumpet player named Keith Johnson, Young said. He talked him into doing the jazz show on his FM station, and I was just in a trance.

After Johnson landed a gig with Butterfield, though, life took him on the road, leaving behind the radio show. When Youngs dad drafted him into taking over, Johnson and Painter, married at the time, invited Young to their South Willamette Street home to show the young man the ropes.

Keith sat me down and he played three tunes to introduce me to jazz, Young said. Opus de Funk by Horace Silver, 'Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting by Charles Mingus and Swing Low, Sweet Cadillac by Dizzy Gillespie. And that just nailed me.

Soon after joining Butterfield, Johnson started to makehis mark in jazz and blues. According to All Music, Johnson was an imposing musical presence who played trumpet and keyboards, but not well-known outside of jazz circles. In 1967, though, he brought a jazzier element to a reconstituted Paul Butterfield Blues Band, playing with them in front of 50,000 people at the Monterey International Pop Festival in California.

Johnsonleft the group in 1970 to make a living as a roving sideman. Over the years, he played with Elephant's Memory, on Mark "Moogy" Klingman'sfirst solo album "Moogy," Van Morrison's His Band and the Street Choir, Martha Velez's Hypnotized and as the musical director for Etta Jamesin her L.A. studio and on the road.

Like many sidemen and artists before him, though, the money did not follow the plaudits and renown.

He talked to me about the odd jobs he had to take to pay the rent, Painter said. Here he was working with the most famous musicians in the whole world in amazing places, but he couldn't pay the rent.

Part of this was fate and self-fortune. After leaving Etta James, the woman became a legend, making up to $50,000 a night for an appearance.

He said, 'Damn, you know, I should have kept my mettle. I was temp-of-the-month for balloons, a cup of coffee and a doughnut,' Painter said.

Slowing down as the years passed, the reconnected couple found peace in each others company.

At 80, being teenagers in love, we basically were interested in being together, Painter said. We both said, Well, why don't we relax and enjoy each other?'

Thatdidnt mean Johnson was over creating music. Settling in northwest Portland, Johnson discovered well-knownabstract illusionist painter George D. Green, whom hed enjoyed at a Lake Oswego exhibit, lived right down the road.

When they met, Green said, "You are my hero,"Painter recalled.

Turns out, Green saw Johnson play in a place calledThe Abyss,a short-lived college venue in a Eugene basement.

George said, 'When my friends and I would come back from San Francisco, they would say, Keiths gonnaplay tonight, and hes got some new licks.

Johnson would go on to write music soundtracks for severalGreenpaintings. The suites (one of which, Marooned Musical, is available on YouTube) are a strange, hypnotic blend, emblematic of a man satisfied with his journey, looking to give just a little more beauty back to the world.

He was just a precious guy with a wonderful optimistic spirit, a lot of talent and full of war stories, Painter said.

At the end, Johnson accepted life and death with an equanimity indicative of a melodious life. Speaking to a friend just days before he died, Johnson knew he would beleaving the world soon.

But he said, Hey, man, what are you going to do? This is what happens, Painter said. I thought, bless his heart. I hope we can all be that way.

Follow Matt on Instagram @CAFE_541. Questions or comments? Email him mdenis@registerguard.com.Want more stories like this?Subscribeto get unlimited access and support local journalism.

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Appreciation: Oregon musician Keith Johnson leaves behind an American jazz legacy - The Register-Guard