Jared Johnson

As a longtime professional writer, music lover, and great admirer of John Steinbeck’s work, I felt very privileged to have been the person Jared Johnson selected to narrate his Grapes of Wrath Project: Modern Jazz Reflections. Anyone familiar with the music scene in our part of the country knows Jared for his skillful and versatile work as a drummer; I’m also lucky to know him as a fellow Steinbeck fan. But even with that knowledge, I was hardly prepared for what he and his similarly gifted group, Next of Kin, came up with for the debut performance of The Grapes of Wrath Project. Of course, I was familiar with Steinbeck’s book and the classic scenes that continue to speak forcefully to us and our sense of compassion and fair play. And I was familiar with Jared’s facility as both composer and musician.But I was hardly prepared for the synergy of the two. In fact, it took me several run-throughs to be able to get through my part without choking up. With The Grapes of Wrath Project: Modern Jazz Reflections, Jared Johnson adds another level to the deeply human message that still rings out from Steinbeck’s words. Sometimes as soft as a young mother’s touch, other times raging like Dust Bowl windstorms, and occasionally reaching complexities of emotion that lie beyond all words, the music Jared gives The Grapes of Wrath Project never tries to overpower the classic text that inspired it. It does, however, amplify — both respectfully and powerfully — some of the greatest and most deeply American passages ever written. John Wooley Author and Host, Swing On This, KWGS

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As a longtime professional writer, music lover, and great admirer of John Steinbeck’s work, I felt very privileged to have been the person Jared Johnson selected to narrate his Grapes of Wrath Project: Modern Jazz Reflections. Anyone familiar with the music scene in our part of the country knows Jared for his skillful and versatile work as a drummer; I’m also lucky to know him as a fellow Steinbeck fan. But even with that knowledge, I was hardly prepared for what he and his similarly gifted group, Next of Kin, came up with for the debut performance of The Grapes of Wrath Project. Of course, I was familiar with Steinbeck’s book and the classic scenes that continue to speak forcefully to us and our sense of compassion and fair play. And I was familiar with Jared’s facility as both composer and musician.But I was hardly prepared for the synergy of the two. In fact, it took me several run-throughs to be able to get through my part without choking up. With The Grapes of Wrath Project: Modern Jazz Reflections, Jared Johnson adds another level to the deeply human message that still rings out from Steinbeck’s words. Sometimes as soft as a young mother’s touch, other times raging like Dust Bowl windstorms, and occasionally reaching complexities of emotion that lie beyond all words, the music Jared gives The Grapes of Wrath Project never tries to overpower the classic text that inspired it. It does, however, amplify — both respectfully and powerfully — some of the greatest and most deeply American passages ever written. John Wooley Author and Host, Swing On This, KWGS

https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/post/jared- johnson-active-drummer-tulsa-scene- offers-grapes-wrath-project#stream/0

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