Results for "Marc Johnson"

Marc Johnson

Born: October 21, 1953

As a virtuoso bassist, versatile composer, and acclaimed bandleader, Marc Johnson has been a major innovator on the jazz scene for the past two decades.

Born in Nebraska in 1953, Johnson took up bass at the age of 16, having already studied piano and cello. While completing his formal education in the celebrated music program at the University of North Texas, at age19, Johnson began performing professionally with the Fort Worth Symphony. In 1977, he was on the road with the Woody Herman Band. A stop with Herman in New York City marked a major turning point for Johnson, where he was invited to sit in with Bill Evans at the Village Vanguard. In 1978, he joined Evans' trio, remaining with him until the pianist's death two years later. Johnson appears on numerous albums recorded with Evans, including the Grammy-winning We Will Meet Again and released in 1997, a six-CD box set of live recordings, Turn Out the Stars, weaving his distinctively warm tones and melodic lines into the complex harmonies of the Trio. "I was still a very young player when I was with Bill," Johnson says, “but by playing with him night after night I matured a lot.

The Continuing Evolution of Kurt Elling

by Mathew Bahl
August 23, 2023

"I feel like at this point in my career I don't have to prove that I can do fifteen different things to greater or lesser degrees of expertise." Kurt Elling is discussing the genesis of his latest record, Flirting With Twilight. “I've made these roller coaster rides every time," says the Chicago-based jazz singer ...

Jazz Aspen Snowmass June Experience 2023

by Geoff Anderson
July 6, 2023

Jazz Aspen Snowmass June Experience Downtown Aspen Aspen, Colorado June 22-24, 2023 Jazz Aspen Snowmass (JAS) has been around as a concept for a few decades now. The format and specific locations have changed over the years, but the basic idea remains the same: go to a beautiful mountain location and ...

Zeno De Rossi: Tradire la Tradizione

by Neri Pollastri
May 22, 2023

Da anni personalità artistica centrale del jazz e della musica improvvisata del nostro Paese, Zeno De Rossi è solito alternare alla realizzazione di progetti a proprio nome sia produzioni collettive, sia collaborazioni con artisti di caratura assoluta--basti pensare alle lunghe esperienze con Franco D'Andrea, Francesco Bearzatti o Roberto Ottaviano. Nell'ultimo anno e mezzo, quando la progressiva ...

Bill Frisell Interview: The Textural Minimalist Redefines American Music

by Mike Brannon
May 6, 2023

This article was first published at All About Jazz on March 2001. It's safe to say, the great American composer/improviser has a new face. Formerly more likely to have been two different people, one committed to the quiet focused existence of composition at a piano while the other roaming the stages of the world, ...

Eliane Elias Trio: Czech Republic, 2008

May 3, 2023

In 2008, pianist-singer Eliane Elias was on tour with her trio in Brno, the Czech Republic. Her performance was billed as a “Tribute to Bill Evans" in support of her album Something for You. As with all of Elaine's concerts, this one demonstrates yet again what an exceptional and powerful jazz pianist she is. By powerful, ...

Darius Jones, Lakecia Benjamin, Teddy Edwards and More

by Jerome Wilson
May 3, 2023

This show features saxophonists such as Darius Jones, Teddy Edwards, and Lakecia Benjamin, the big band music of Horace Tapscott, and a lot more. Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett “I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosaic) 00:00 Henriette Muller “Memories of a ...

Take Five with Guitarist Grant Gordy

by AAJ Staff
March 30, 2023

Meet Grant Gordy For many guitarists, landing a gig with bluegrass mandolinist David Grisman's groundbreaking bluegrass/jazz quintet would be the culmination of a career in music. But for Grant Gordy, it was more of a beginning, an apprenticeship in combining bluegrass and jazz that served as a launchpad for his own music. How far he has ...

Peter Erskine Trio: As It Was

by John Kelman
February 11, 2023

The box set you hold in your hands features three players who came together in an exceptional group to play some of the most compelling and exploratory piano trio music of the 20th Century's final decade. This threesome, led by Peter Erskine, released four albums recorded between July 1991 and July 1997: 1993's You Never Know, ...

John Abercrombie: The First Quartet

by John Kelman
February 9, 2023

With the release of Arcade (1979), Abercrombie Quartet (1980) and M (1981), John Abercrombie's entire ECM discography as a leader is finally available on CD. Looking back at these albums and their position in his oeuvre, they are revealed as seminal documents of Abercrombie's arrival as a distinctive writer, improvising guitarist and bandleader, delivering on the ...