Renowned music scholar; co-founded Afro American Music Institute in 1982
Dr. James T. Johnson Jr., and his wife, Pamela Johnson, brought their Southern charm to Pittsburgh, and the rest, they say, is history.
Tens of thousands of people—some currently are children, but the rest are grown men and women—are walking around this world with the teachings and life lessons from Dr. Johnson, affectionately known as “Dr. J.”
The music aficionado, who played alongside the greats like Herbie Hancock, Wynton Marsalis, Ahmad Jamal and the Count Basie Orchestra, had a deep passion to spread the knowledge he had to future generations.
“Dr. J.” and his wife founded the Afro American Music Institute in Pittsburgh in 1982. For years, it was housed in the basement of their church, St. James AME Church, in East Liberty. Later, it moved to Tioga Street in Homewood, and in 2003, it moved into its current structure at 7131 Hamilton Avenue, Homewood.
DR. JAMES T. JOHNSON JR., WITH WIFE, PAMELA JOHNSON, OUTSIDE THE AFRO AMERICAN MUSIC INSTITUTE IN HOMEWOOD.
Teaching other people “was just in his heart, and he did it with a passion. I watched him,” said his daughter, Cecilia Coleman-Finney, in an interview with the New Pittsburgh Courier, March 17. “Anybody that experienced or had the privilege to be in one of his classes, or took lessons from him, they always say, the desire he had to teach and read music, that was his life.”
Dr. James T. Johnson Jr., the Courier has learned exclusively, passed away at the Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Harmarville, Monday, March 16. He was 76.
“We’re all in shock,” Coleman-Finney told the Courier exclusively. She said her father was scheduled to leave the rehabilitation center on March 25, which is also Coleman-Finney’s birthday.
“He was a pillar of the community,” Coleman-Finney said. “Everybody knew he was an extraordinary educator.”
THE JOHNSONS DANCING…(FILE PHOTO BY J.L. MARTELLO)
Born on August 26, 1949, Dr. Johnson attended Grambling State University, graduating in 1972 with a degree in music education. While at Grambling, he performed with the Grambling Symphony Orchestra as well as the Shreveport, Monroe, Ruston, and El Dorado Symphony orchestras.
In 1977, Dr. Johnson was offered a teaching position at the University of Pittsburgh, and he and his wife, Pamela, moved from Louisiana to Pittsburgh.
Five years later, the Johnsons founded the Afro American Music Institute, in April 1982. And in the nearly 44 years since, tens of thousands of people have been nurtured through the institute, via an educational curriculum designed by Dr. Johnson.
A lover of jazz, Dr. Johnson traveled the world as a jazz musician and music educator. He traveled to places like Belgium, Senegal, Ethiopia, Mozambique, South Africa, Ghana and Canada.
DR. JAMES T. JOHNSON JR., WITH WIFE, PAMELA
Dr. Johnson also taught at Carlow University, Duquesne University, Community College of Allegheny County and Wright State University (Dayton, Ohio). He’s been featured on national television for his knowledge of music education, on channels like PBS and BET. You could find him pretty much anywhere in Pittsburgh on the church organ, with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, or in his sacred teaching spaces at the institute.
And who could forget about the Afro American Music Institute’s Boys Choir? Established in 1990, the beloved choir continues to teach boys the art of music along with the game of life.
In 2009, Dr. Johnson received the jazz legends award at the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, leading to the chronicling of his life at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. In 2012, he co-founded the jazz coalition, an organization of educators and performers throughout the nation who are concerned with both the performance practice and education of jazz music.
Dr. Johnson, who always valued education, earned his master’s degree in 1982 and Ph.D. in 1988 in ethnomusicology, both from the University of Pittsburgh.
He also was a father to five children, grandfather to eight, and great-grandfather to three.
“He was a great father,” Coleman-Finney told the Courier. “Great husband. A mentor. Great grandfather. Supportive of everybody.”
Coleman-Finney told the Courier that Spriggs-Watson Funeral Home, on Bennett Street in Homewood, will be handling the homegoing arrangements. Exact dates of the visitation and homegoing services were not finalized as of March 17.
“He used to always tell me,” Coleman-Finney said about her father, “whatever I do, make sure I’m happy, because that’s priceless. When I was younger, I didn’t quite understand. But as I got older, now I do anything that just makes me happy.”
