Johnny Fourie
Encyclopedia
Jan Carel Fourie was a South African Jazz guitarists
.
His first passion for music come whilst watching cowboy movies
and Johnny wanted to imitate their sound.
After this period he heard the George Shearing quintet in 1949. It blew his mind away! He instantly become in love with Jazz music
and started playing jazz day and night.
At the age of 15 he left his parents house in order to pursue his career in Jazz guitar
playing. His first gigs were with Boeremusiek (traditional South Africa
n Afrikaans Music) bands and he quickly gained recognition as a great guitarist in the Johannesburg music scene
of the 1950s.
By 1961 Johnny wanted to ONLY play jazz and he took a boat to London. In the first two weeks his money ran out and his wife was becoming desperate. Johnny then got his first gig playing with an Eastern Europe
an violinist at the Blue Boar Inn.
This is what Johnny said about the situation: "What I saw in Soho forced me to leave in November on a boat destined for London with my wife a baby and about two hundred rand" (Very little money in today's terms, almost too little to survive.
A short while after this Johnny Fourie auditioned for the Ray Ellington Quartet. He told his students at the Technikon University in Pretoria in 2002 about this experience. He said This was the biggest test of my life. It was a make it or break it period. I could not read the notes, and initially I was turned down, but when they heard me play they told me that they would like me to perform. I was very exhilarated, but had no knowledge of music reading. I had 2 weeks to memorize 4 years of work. It was the moment of truth and I passed!
After this Johnny become the resident guitarist for the esteemed jazz club: Ronny Scotts.
Here Johnny was exposed to Bill Evans
, Jim Hall
, René Thomas
, Freddie Hubbard
, Stan Getz
, Roland Kirk
and Sonny Rollins
amongst others.
After London he return to South Africa to go and practice the new jazz style called fusion. (during the 70s).
After this he briefly settled in New York, but was forced to go back to South Africa due to not obtaining a visa.
He then taught students the guitar in South Africa for the remainder of his career.
John McLuaghlin (the famous British Jazz/Fusion Guitarist) said of him: "Johnny Fourie is one of the greatest guitar players of our époque"
Jazz guitar
The term jazz guitar may refer to either a type of guitar or to the variety of guitar playing styles used in the various genres which are commonly termed "jazz"...
.
His first passion for music come whilst watching cowboy movies
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
and Johnny wanted to imitate their sound.
After this period he heard the George Shearing quintet in 1949. It blew his mind away! He instantly become in love with Jazz music
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and started playing jazz day and night.
At the age of 15 he left his parents house in order to pursue his career in Jazz guitar
Jazz guitar
The term jazz guitar may refer to either a type of guitar or to the variety of guitar playing styles used in the various genres which are commonly termed "jazz"...
playing. His first gigs were with Boeremusiek (traditional South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n Afrikaans Music) bands and he quickly gained recognition as a great guitarist in the Johannesburg music scene
Indie music scenes
An independent music scene is a localized independent music-oriented community of bands and their fans. Local scenes can become a key role in musical history and lead to influential genres, for example No Wave from New York City, Madchester from Manchester and Grunge from...
of the 1950s.
By 1961 Johnny wanted to ONLY play jazz and he took a boat to London. In the first two weeks his money ran out and his wife was becoming desperate. Johnny then got his first gig playing with an Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an violinist at the Blue Boar Inn.
This is what Johnny said about the situation: "What I saw in Soho forced me to leave in November on a boat destined for London with my wife a baby and about two hundred rand" (Very little money in today's terms, almost too little to survive.
A short while after this Johnny Fourie auditioned for the Ray Ellington Quartet. He told his students at the Technikon University in Pretoria in 2002 about this experience. He said This was the biggest test of my life. It was a make it or break it period. I could not read the notes, and initially I was turned down, but when they heard me play they told me that they would like me to perform. I was very exhilarated, but had no knowledge of music reading. I had 2 weeks to memorize 4 years of work. It was the moment of truth and I passed!
After this Johnny become the resident guitarist for the esteemed jazz club: Ronny Scotts.
Here Johnny was exposed to Bill Evans
Bill Evans
William John Evans, known as Bill Evans was an American jazz pianist. His use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines influenced a generation of pianists including: Chick Corea, Herbie...
, Jim Hall
Jim Hall (musician)
James Stanley Hall is an American jazz guitarist.-Biography:Educated at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Hall moved to Los Angeles where he began to attract national, and then international, attention in the late 1950s...
, René Thomas
René Thomas (guitarist)
René Thomas is considered one of the greatest jazz guitarists of the 1960s, but has remained rather unknown to the general public. After the Second World War, he played with the "Bop Shots", Belgium's first be-bop outfit with Jacques Pelzer and Bobby Jaspar...
, Freddie Hubbard
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 1960s and on...
, Stan Getz
Stan Getz
Stanley Getz was an American jazz saxophone player. Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Scott...
, Roland Kirk
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Rahsaan Roland Kirk was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who played tenor saxophone, flute and many other instruments...
and Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins
Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
amongst others.
After London he return to South Africa to go and practice the new jazz style called fusion. (during the 70s).
After this he briefly settled in New York, but was forced to go back to South Africa due to not obtaining a visa.
He then taught students the guitar in South Africa for the remainder of his career.
John McLuaghlin (the famous British Jazz/Fusion Guitarist) said of him: "Johnny Fourie is one of the greatest guitar players of our époque"
Further reading
- Johnny Fourie and his influence on the development of the jazz guitar in South Africa; Master's thesis by Jonathan Crossley
External links
- Johnny Fourie - a detailed biography by Jonathan Crossley (first published in Rootz Magazine 2002)
- Obituary (Aug 20 2007, Mail & Guardian)