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When I arrived at The Bean Scene at five minutes to 7, Graham and Scott Johnson, son and father (respectively) duo, were already into their first song, having begun slightly
ahead of their scheduled 7 p.m. start time (rare in this town!). I settled into one of the very comfy couches near the musicians and set up shop, my Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and notebook on the
convenient coffee table I had all to myself. What struck me first about Graham Johnson’s piano playing on this first tune, Dizzy Gillespie’s “Tango,” was that it reminded me of Vince
Guaraldi—most popularly of Charlie Brown theme music fame-- in its joyous percussiveness. Scott Johnson’s bass solo—he uses a 4-string
fretless Alembic—was mellow, pretty. Graham, appropriately, played more quietly and sparely while his father soloed. I liked the musical interplay between father and son, bass and piano; they
listened to one another and responded with sensitivity by altering dynamics when called for.
On “In Walked Bud,” one of my favorite Monk tunes, I again noted the effectiveness of the spare piano
comping during the bass solo. Graham—a 17-year-old senior at Chico High School, by the way—can most certainly play a lot of notes (I heard him demonstrate that skill
many times over the course of the two-hour evening), but tastefully chooses not to when it’s time for his dad to shine.
"Softly As A Morning Sunrise,” had a definite Guaraldi feel to
it, as did much of Graham’s playing that night…definitely a prominent aspect of his keyboard style. On Duke Ellington’s “Caravan,” on which Graham engaged both keyboards of his MIDI-controlled
stack of two, echoing the melody back and forth between the two keyboards (on most tunes, he just played the lower one, with a traditional piano sound), the pair moved between Latin and swing
styles to keep things interesting. In “Straight, No Chaser,” the bass nicely quoted the melody in his solo. I very much liked their treatment of “Body and Soul”—slow and smoky (in a non-smoking
environment—good job!). I assumed that they had played that one many, many times together (the two have played music together, Scott told me after the show, for almost 15 years—quite
remarkable, considering that Graham is only seventeen), but was told that it was actually fairly new for them. Their slow version of “Polka Dots and Moonbeams” (this duo is not afraid to play
slowly; it is one of their strengths) was also pleasant—the tone of the bass was soothing, the sensitive interplay between bass and piano enjoyable. Graham’s playing at times has a crisp,
“falling snowflake” quality to it which plays nicely against his dad’s mellow, woody “ground.
I must say that I was very excited when the affable pair finally, late in the show, launched
into the Charlie Brown theme song (I believe the actual title is “Linus and Lucy”). It’s perfect for them, perfect for Graham’s (have I already mentioned this??)
Guaraldi-like approach to the piano, and Graham’s sweet little piano licks were…well…sweet! He even throws in a little humor at times with a well-placed “plink!”
About three-fourths of the songs the duo played were standards, but some were not familiar to me because they were
originals. Scott Johnson’s “Check Your Shoes” was a somewhat groovy, funky little number. I had made a note that it felt like “funky walking” before I found out at the end of the piece that the
title did indeed have to do with feet. So we were all on the same wavelength! “Poodles of Wrath,” written by Graham Johnson, began with a mysterious-sounding, obviously rehearsed
stop-time introduction played by both piano and bass, and then became a Guaraldiesque piece alternating between 4/4 and 5/4. Interesting.
I was impressed by the fact that Scott and Graham have everything memorized—not a piece of sheet music or
a music stand in sight. Also, their flow between pieces is just right. No extended pauses while someone looks for the music or to have a lengthy discussion over what
to play next. Overall, their style—a mixture of jazz, New Age and even classical sounds-- might be classified as “smooth jazz,” a term that the pair accepts as one way to describe their music.
Graham also offered up “modern jazz” as another way to describe what they do, considering that in this modern day a musician is subject to many influences and styles, and their playing reflects
that. Constructive criticism? Once in a while Graham’s performance seemed to bog down slightly when he tried to fit in a lot of notes, which also seems to put the
piano and bass out-of-synch a bit, but then again, how else is he going to keep improving if he doesn’t push his limits? Also, on their rather “churchy” version of “I’m An Old Cowhand,” I could
have used more volume on the Hammond B3 sound. Might have made me rise on up and start clapping my hands—oh yeah!
I like the place. I like the Johnsons. The whole evening had a bit of a big city feeling to it, like San Jose really
has come to Chico, but in a good way. Even the acoustics in the bathroom had that slightly echoey sound that I associate with, say, a big city piano bar, like when I
walked out I would be in the lobby of some hotel in San Francisco or Seattle. So, check it all out…The Bean Scene, Scott and Graham Johnson…
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