RIP Bunchy Johnson

I just got the new OffBeat, the JazzFest Bible edition and came across the obituary for drummer Bunchy Johnson. I may have heard he had died, but it was not until I saw his picture in OffBeat, that I realized he was the exuberant drummer who I saw playing with Jeremy Davenport at JazzFest several times.

He played with a who's who of New Orleans musicians including Dave Bartholomew, Allen Toussaint, Johnny Adams, Deacon John, Irma Thomas, Doctor John, and James Booker. He was an important part of Deacon John's Jump Blues project. Deacon John (quoted in OffBeat) remembers "Bunchy was the kind of guy that lit up the room when he walked in." I just remember the exuberance he brought to his music.