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Jeff Johnson

Jazz bassist, Jeff Johnson, received an acoustic guitar at age 9 and began his personal musical journey.

British rock and American soul music were his earliest influences. Early 1960's AM radio became his first "teacher". Jeff learned the licks and chords of popular music of the time by listening and copying what he heard. At age 15, Jeff took a job offer to play electric bass guitar in a steadily working band which introduced him to jazz. By age 17 he was teaching himself the acoustic double bass, learning onstage with veterans and peers of the fertile "Twin Cities" jazz scene.

Jeff credits saxophonists Irv Williams, Larry Hillman, Bob Crea, Dick Oatts, and Bob Rockwell, as well as pianists Buddy Davis, Tom O'Donnell, Bobby Peterson, Art Resnick, and Bobby Lyle, along with guitarist Dean Granros, bassist Billy Peterson, and drummers Jay Epstein, Kenny Horst, Paul Lagos, and Eric Gravatt as early Minneapolis/St.Paul mentors.

In 1975, at age 20, Jeff left Minneapolis for Philadelphia to join legendary drummer Philly Joe Jones' then touring group called "Le Gran Prix". After touring the Eastern seaboard for several months and experiencing the great cities of that coast, Jeff began following leads for gigs which had him living and working in many cities across America including Atlanta, Oklahoma City, Austin, San Diego, and Los Angeles, finally settling with his wife Marcy in Seattle in 1990.

Since his arrival in Seattle, Jeff has embarked on many musical collaborations with Pacific Northwest area musicians. Many of these relationships continue today. Several of these musicians are featured on Jeff's own recordings and he on theirs.

Since 1991, Jeff has also worked off and on with pianist Jessica Williams with whom he has recorded six CD's and played major venues such as Jazz Alley and the Monterrey Jazz Festival. Jeff's work with Williams created collaborations with drummers, Dick Berk, Ralph Penland, Victor Lewis, Mel Brown, and Eddie Marshall, as well as saxophonist Gary Bartz.

Since 1993, on the International scene, Jeff has worked in pianist Hal Galper's trios with drummers Steve Ellington and John Bishop. "Origin" records has released their latest trio recording in 2007 called "Furious Rubato" to great critical acclaim. Jeff has toured the United States and Europe several times with Galper's groupings, playing major venues, festivals, and schools. Jeff has recorded seven CD's on various labels with Galper in trio, quartet, and quintet configurations. (See selected discography). Collaboration with Hal Galper has included gigs and recording sessions with saxophonists, Jerry Bergonzi, Steve Grossman, Dick Oatts, Walt Weiskopf, Ira Sullivan, Gary Foster, and trumpeters Tim Hagans, Jack Walrath, and Franco Ambrosetti.

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Liner Notes

Jeff Johnson: My Heart

Read "Jeff Johnson: My Heart" reviewed by Jeff Johnson


jny: Minneapolis... circa 1972 is where this story begins. People ask me, “where did you go to study music?" I always answer, “Minneapolis / St.Paul, Minnesota." Then they ask, “yes... but what school?" My reply, “the streets, night clubs, and music scene of Minneapolis / St. Paul. I have a bastard's degree in music from Minneapolis / St. Paul." The “Twin Cities" as they are called in Minnesota, was extremely fertile musical ground at the time ...

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Liner Notes

Hal Galper Trio: Trip the Light Fantastic

Read "Hal Galper Trio: Trip the Light Fantastic" reviewed by Ken Dryden


This liner note assignment was very special to me, as it followed a phone interview that I did with Hal Galper that was a cover feature. Galper was ecstatic when it was published and called me one afternoon, exclaiming that the release date for his new CD was being moved up and he didn't have time to writer the liner notes, so he asked me if I was interested. With so much great material from the recent interview, all I ...

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Album Review

Jeff Johnson: My Heart

Read "My Heart" reviewed by Paul Rauch


What could possibly be so interesting about a thirty-two-year old session of first takes, recorded live to 2-track DAT by a quartet led by a Seattle- based bassist who is not exactly a household name? A quick answer would include superlatives such as “masterful," or “historic." A brief history of bassist and composer Jeff Johnson creates a better sense of understanding. Johnson is perhaps best known as a pioneering member of pianist Hal Galper's revolutionary rubato trio of the '90's, ...

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Album Review

Scenes: Variable Clouds: Live at the Earshot Jazz Festival

Read "Variable Clouds: Live at the Earshot Jazz Festival" reviewed by Paul Rauch


Scenes'' first album dates back to 2001, but the origins of the band dates back to the early 1990s, when saxophonist Rick Mandyck, bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer John Bishop initiated a trio gig. On occasion guitarist John Stowell would drop in if he was off the road and in Seattle. The band that began as a trio reverted back to that format after that inaugural recording, this time Stowell in tow as Mandyck slipped into a decade-long hiatus from ...

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Album Review

Scenes: Variable Clouds: Live at the Earshot Jazz Festival

Read "Variable Clouds: Live at the Earshot Jazz Festival" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


The group Scenes has released seven excellent albums over two decades of recording together, beginning with their eponymous debut (Origin Records, 2001). All of those are studio efforts. The group's 2022 outing, Variable Clouds is a first for Scenes--their first album recorded live in front of an audience, in 2021 at the Earshot Jazz Festival. This is a return to the group's original line-up. Saxophonist Rick Mandyck sat out for a time due to health problems, leaving Scenes ...

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Album Review

Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra: Twisting Ways

Read "Twisting Ways" reviewed by Jack Bowers


For the better part of its latest recording, Twisting Ways, Canada's Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra may as well scrub the word “Jazz" from its name, as the music mostly bears scant resemblance to that time-honored genre. The overall mood may best be described as funereal, epitomizing themes of a mostly exploratory nature, interrupted all too seldom by passages that are more akin to the essence of traditional jazz. As the composers, David Braid and Philippe Cote, are well-known and well-respected in ...

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Album Review

Scenes: Trapeze

Read "Trapeze" reviewed by Paul Rauch


The storyline for the Pacific Northwest-based band Scenes began in 1983, when drummer John Bishop and guitarist John Stowell began playing together in Portland and Seattle. When bassist Jeff Johnson arrived in Seattle in 1989, he began playing a weekly trio gig with Bishop and tenor saxophonist Rick Mandyck. Stowell, already frequently traveling abroad to play and teach, would drop by every so often to play.The quartet wouldn't get around to record until 2001, releasing Scenes on the ...

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Performance / Tour

Hal Galper, Jeff Johnson and John Bishop Play Birdland in NYC Tuesday Night

Hal Galper, Jeff Johnson and John Bishop Play Birdland in NYC Tuesday Night

Source: Seattle Jazz Scene


"Johnson's a shadow boxer who doesn't support a soloist as much as he challenges him" - Dave McElfresh / Jazz Now

Photos

Concerts

Apr 20 Sat

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

My Heart

Origin Records
2023

buy

Variable Clouds: Live...

Origin Records
2022

buy

Mystery & Wonder

Origin Records
2021

buy

Still I Rise

Impact Jazz
2020

buy

Trapeze

Origin Records
2020

buy

Linden Station

From: My Heart
By Jeff Johnson

Tilbury Hill

From: Variable Clouds: Live at the...
By Jeff Johnson

Wonderland

From: Mystery & Wonder
By Jeff Johnson

Scene West

From: Suitcase
By Jeff Johnson

Kiwi

From: Suitcase
By Jeff Johnson

Suspension

From: Trip the Light Fantastic
By Jeff Johnson

The Edge

From: Humble Origins
By Jeff Johnson

Three French Nuns

From: Silent Photographer
By Jeff Johnson

Paris

From: Tall Stranger
By Jeff Johnson

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