Governor's Heritage Award - Palmer Johnson

Palmer Johnson of Seattle, Washington was one of the city’s greatest jazz musicians. Born in Houston in 1907, he grew up in Los Angeles’s Central Avenue neighborhood surrounded by musical influences. He started on violin at age seven and eventually turned to playing the piano. His first professional job was in 1924, and he came to Seattle in 1928, where he played the Maryland Tavern on Lake City Way. Johnson soon became a fixture on the local scene, performing with most of Seattle’s jazz masters in various roadhouses and taverns, including the colorful Prohibition-era establishment, the China Castle, which later became the Jolly Roger. During the late 1930s, he was renowned for his powerful boogie-woogie style. Clarinetist Joe Darensbourg recalls Johnson during this period: “Palmer was very good. He played with the class of Billy Kyle and could work with anybody’s band.” Palmer Johnson passed away in 1996.