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Akeem Johnson
Member Since: 2025 | Location: New York City | Page Views: 39 
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My Jazz Story
I like jazz because it’s the only music that ever felt honest to me. Growing up in Queens, everything had a rhythm, subways shaking the pavement, vendors calling out on Roosevelt,
the choir at St. Mark’s lifting the whole block on Sunday mornings. Jazz carried all of that. It lets you hear someone think on their feet, turn a mistake into a new idea, and turn silence
into part of the story. When I listen, I feel like I’m in the room with the player, sharing something real and unpolished. That kind of truth is hard to find anywhere else.
My House Concert Story
Some nights stick with you. I remember a tiny loft on the Lower East Side, smoke curling into the ceiling, where George Adams (sax player for Mingus at the time) was sitting in for
the session that night (should be late 1972, right before Christmas). I had no intention to play that night but the way George was playing, shaking the wooden boards of the floor
as he played his scales flawlessly, made it seem effortless.
I joined in, nervously, I've always had an ongoing condition of stage fright (probably that's why I never became a fully fledged performer). I recall the tune was, It Could Happen to
You. At one point as we were trading 4s with the drummer, he nodded at me, just a tilt of the head, approving a Warne Marsh concept I had been working on for months. Honestly
it was the only time I was even able to play it out on a standard flawlessly. George was blowing tenor like he was shaking the walls themselves, the tune ended, time slowed
down.
You know, there are those moments where it just happens, you are lucky. Nobody clapped. Nobody needed to. Just a few nods and "Killing"'s amongst the audience, who were
mostly musicians. That night taught me that jazz isn’t just practicing alone; it’s taking a chance on life and sharing that with people. Sometimes you fly, if you dare.
Favorite Places to See Jazz
Theme Song
Playlist
This page was last updated on 2025-11-26.
