Aaron Johnson

Aaron Johnson is a Saxophonist and young scholar of Jazz History and Culture whose music and unrelenting energy have captivated listeners and musicians in a short period of time. A disciple of Charlie Parker and the Bebop era, Johnson is an artist possessing a wild musical imagination, a fearless heart and a probing intellect. Johnson grew up in rural Oregon, where he excelled at music at a very early age. Studying Classical music and the Clarinet, Aaron made his soloist debut at age 16, after winning the Young Artists and Musicians summer concerto competition at Willamette University. From there, he studied on a Scholarship at the world renowned Interlochen Center for the Arts during the summers as well as attending high school at the Interlochen Academy, eventually receiving the Joseph Maddy award- the highest honor awarded by the institution. In 2009, Aaron was chosen as Lead Alto Saxophonist in the Gibson/Baldwin Grammy Jazz Ensemble where he performed and attended 51st annual Grammy week. Also in 2009 he won the "Outstanding Soloist" title at the Monterey Next Generation Festival and made the moving to New York, to study on a full tuition scholarship at the Manhattan School of Music. Since his arrival to New York, Aaron has lectured, given talks and moderated panels regarding the state of Jazz, it's history, identity, culture and function at notable institutions such as New York University, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The National Jazz Museum of Harlem and the College of William and Mary (Williamsburg, Virginia). Aaron has appeared in concerts and jazz club settings as a sideman to notable Jazz artists and rising stars such as Jonathan Batiste, Connie Crothers, Bruce Harris, Michael Mwenso, James Langton's NY All Star Big Band and The Jimmy Halperin Quartet as well as leading his Quintet with Trumpeter Benny Benack III at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, Jazz at Lincoln Center. In 2009 and 2014, Aaron produced historically accurate recreations of Benny Goodman's Orchestra (2009, Oregon) and Charlie Parker with Strings (2014, NYC). Aaron resides in New York City, where he continues to study and grow while leading his many musical projects that range from early 1920's New Orleans Jazz to Bebop to fires of the Avant Garde.

New York, NY