Jazz Articles about Darren Johnston

Darren Johnston's Gone To Chicago: The Big Lift

by Glenn Astarita
December 13, 2011

Canada-reared, but calling San Francisco home since 1997, trumpeter and composer Darren Johnston delves into the Chicago's avant, modern-jazz establishment and kicks off a vibrant set, with prominent constituents of The Windy City's fertile soundscape. With The Big Lift, the trumpeter's ascending status within the outer reaches of jazz attains another hierarchical level. Peppered by an undulating groove-quotient, the ensemble combines a frothy and infectious mode of attack by incorporating the blues, mainstream jazz, and avant-garde musings with ...

Darren Johnston - Aram Shelton - Lisa Mezzacappa - Kjell Nordeson: Cylinder

by AAJ Italy Staff
August 25, 2011

Provenienze diverse, sia geografiche che stilistiche, ma lo stesso comune amore per la musica improvvisata, avventurosa, di ricerca. Tutto ciò abbinato allo spirito particolare di San Francisco, città dove è stato registrato il disco, e ad un concetto cooperativistico e paritario del quartetto anche dal punto di vista compositivo (ogni musicista contribuisce con almeno due brani). Quartetto che è stato da più parti paragonato a quello rivoluzionario di Ornette Coleman, non solo per tipo di formazione, ma anche per una ...

Darren Johnston: The Edge of the Forest

by AAJ Italy Staff
April 9, 2009

Nato nell'Ontario, ma attivo musicalmente nell'area californiana, il trombettista Darren Johnston ha collaborato con i musicisti del Rova Saxophone Quartet, con Fred Frith, Myra Melford e Ben Goldberg. Quest'ultimo è presente nella formazione che ha registrato The Edge of the Forest, un quintetto che Johnston ha selezionato con cura per la propria musica, giungendo a risultati eccellenti. L'organico riunisce quattro fiati, affidati a tre solisti, in grado di fornire una gamma timbrica ampia e articolata: tromba, clarinetto, sax tenore o ...

Darren Johnston: The Edge Of The Forest

by Mark Corroto
January 31, 2009

Thoroughly modern doesn't always equate to thoroughly enjoyable and exceedingly complex rarely yields delight. But if the composer is Darren Johnston and the musicianship is of these high standards, the outcome is instantly satisfying.

The Edge Of The Forest is the trumpeter's first Clean Feed disc as leader, but he has been heard on Adam Lane's Full Throttle Orchestra's New Magical Kingdom (Clean Feed, 2007) and No(w) Music (Cadence, 2002). He also leads United Brassworkers Front, an eclectic ...

Darren Johnston: The Edge of the Forest

by Troy Collins
January 24, 2009

Canadian-born Darren Johnston was recently chosen by Down Beat Magazine as one of 25 Trumpeters of the Future. Currently working in the Bay Area's fertile new music scene, Johnston is a prime example of the new generation's eclectic interpretation of the jazz tradition. After acquiring his Master's in composition from Mills College in Oakland, California, Johnston went on to hone his craft with such legends as Fred Frith, Myra Melford and Rova. Besides recordings of his collaborative work, The Edge ...

Darren Johnston / Fred Frith / Devin Hoff / Larry Ochs: Reasons for Moving

by Ivana Ng
August 6, 2008

Reasons for Moving is what an improvised session should sound like: thoughtful, seamless, dynamic, comfortable. “Dawn & The Flat Irons" begins as a conversation between trumpet (Darren Johnston) and bass (Devin Hoff). When drummer Ches Smith comes in, the tune branches off, allowing Smith, Fred Frith (electric guitar) and Larry Ochs (tenor and sopranino saxophones) to play more sparsely. The softer tracks on the CD are more effective. In “Deep North," Smith and Ochs ...

Darren Johnston / Fred Frith / Larry Ochs / Devin Hoff / Ches Smith: Reasons for Moving

by Jerry D'Souza
August 25, 2007

Darren Johnston (trumpet), Fred Frith (electric guitar), Devin Hoff (bass), Larry Ochs (tenor and sopranino saxophones) and Ches Smith (drums) stamp their class as improvisation and free jazz explode in aural splendor and imaginative propulsion on this collaboration. Each has established an undiluted reputation as a forward thinker in taking improvised music into new realms. Change for them is a constant challenge, one they meet on-the-go as they play with their own bands and with other musicians who answer to ...