10 Facts About Johnny Hodges

Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges was an American alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band.

Johnny Hodges played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years.

Johnny Hodges's playing became one of the identifying voices of the Ellington orchestra.

Johnny Hodges had taken up the soprano saxophone by his teens.

When Johnny Hodges was 14, he went with his eldest sister to see Sidney Bechet play in Jimmy Cooper's Black and White Revue in a Boston burlesque hall.

Johnny Hodges played "My Honey's Lovin' Arms" for Bechet, who was impressed with his skill and encouraged him to keep on playing and would give Johnny Hodges formal saxophone lessons.

Johnny Hodges built a name for himself in the Boston area before moving to New York City in 1924.

Johnny Hodges was one of the prominent Ellington Band members who featured in Benny Goodman's 1938 Carnegie Hall concert.

Johnny Hodges had a pure tone and economy of melody on both the blues and ballads that won him admiration from musicians of all eras and styles, from Ben Webster and John Coltrane, who both played with him when he had his own orchestra in the 1950s, to Lawrence Welk, who featured him in an album of standards.

Johnny Hodges was married twice; he had a daughter by his first wife, Bertha Pettiford, and a son and a daughter by his second wife, Edith Cue.