Johnny Bothwell

Johnny Bothwell (May 23, 1919 in Gary, Indiana – September 12, 1995 in Lakeland, Florida) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader.

Bothwell played in Chicago in 1940 and then moved to New York City, playing with Woody Herman (1943) and Sonny Dunham (1944–46). He was a key member and featured soloist of Boyd Raeburn's groups in 1944–45, and played with Gene Krupa in 1945. He formed his own groups between 1945 and 1949, and held a residency at the Tin Pan Alley Club in Chicago as well as in New York and Boston.

Bothwell gave up music after 1949 and moved to Miami, Florida. He owned a number of bands but did not return to playing for the rest of his life.

References

• Johnny Bothwell at Allmusic
• Leonard Feather and Ira Gitler, The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford, 1999, p. 72.