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Michael Johnson

Jazz musician, plays all the reeds plus flute and piccolo

About Me

I come from a musical family; my mother played piano and my stepfather was a doctor who played clarinet as a hobby. My older brother was also studying piano and clarinet at an early age, so some of my earliest recollections are listening to my mother and brother's piano lessons and then taking lessons myself, so I learned quickly and by the time I was in school, I already had some tunes under my fingers! Since we had two pianos, my brother and I were able to play two piano duets, piano concertos, and early on we also began lessons on organ. As a Christmas gift in third grade, my father bought me a new instrument and I still get the feeling of exhilaration today about the saxophone as I got when I opened up the case and saw it for the first time. A product of the renowned music program at Interlochen, Michigan, I attended summer sessions from third grade up until high school. The basic routine was, private lessons on piano, organ and saxophone, music theory classes and practice time in the morning; playing in orchestras, symphonic wind ensembles and jazz ensembles in the afternoon. During the evenings, if you weren't playing in a recital or a concert, you were either attending a classmate's or going to the other art, dance or drama functions around campus. I began to learn the basic fundamentals of saxophone from lessons with Lynn Klock at Interlochen, and locally in Cleveland with two fine teachers, Vince Pattie and Robert Pattie. My eyes and ears were opened by going through my stepfather's extensive record collection, (Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis and many more) as well as listening to what the contemporary saxophonists of the 1970's, 80's and 90's were playing. I studied with Al Blaser from the Cleveland Orchestra and continued during the school year playing recitals with the National Federation of Music Clubs, competitions with the Ohio Music Educators' Association, auditioned to play Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor with the Cleveland Orchestra at age fourteen and in high school, made All-State band. Having received some recognition and awards from these institutions and also singled out as an outstanding soloist by National Association of Jazz Educators, I decided to attend the University of Miami and earned a degree in Studio Music and Jazz Saxophone Performance, and studied with Gary Campbell and Gary Keller, among others. During this era I was fortunate to garner student awards from Downbeat magazine for performances with the University of Miami Avant Garde ensemble and the University of Miami Studio Jazz band. My studies focused on the music of Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Joe Henderson and Wayne Shorter.

In South Florida, I was picked up to join a band on tour with the great pianist, Dr. John and upon graduation I gradually worked more in the entertainment aspect of the music field, doing club dates and backing shows behind the likes of Domenick Allen, Susan Anton, Charo, John Davidson, Phyllis Diller, Lorna Luft, the Platters, the Pointer Sisters, Scott Record, and Ben Vereen. I also worked in the Catskill Mountains and as a Musical Director for a major cruise line company, where I played in, arranged for, and conducted a 9-piece orchestra; scheduling live music and managing 25 musicians onboard of different nationalities. This experience took me all around the world performing a wide variety of music.