Hodges, Johnny

byname of John Cornelius Hodges, also called Rabbit Hodges

(born July 25, 1906, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.—died May 11, 1970, New York, N.Y.) American jazz alto saxophonist and featured soloist in Duke Ellington's orchestra from 1928 until his death, except for the period 1951–55, when he led his own small ensemble.

Hodges was basically self-taught, though he received encouragement from Sidney Bechet. He joined Ellington after brief stays in the bands of Lloyd Scott, Chick Webb, and Lucky Roberts. He was the leading alto saxophonist in jazz throughout the 1930s, applying precision and swing to a “sweet” tone and a brilliant improvisational sense of composition. Hodges excelled at ballads (“Warm Valley” is among his most famous solos) and blues. He projected sensuous elegance through a commanding sound and perfected the use of slurs, portamentos, and glissandi. Hodges recorded extensively with Ellington, as well as on several albums under his own name.