Tenor saxophonist Rudolph Johnson was a heady and deeply focused improviser, recognized for his huge tone and long architectural phrases in the John Coltrane tradition. A member of organist Jimmy McGriff's hard-swinging group of the early 1960s, Johnson came into his own in the '70s, releasing two albums on the Black Jazz Records label, including 1972's Spring Rain, before spending the latter part of his career as a member of Ray Charles' orchestra.