Joe Johnson

Quickly establishing himself as an exceptional, distinctive and diverse artist, bassist, composer and arranger Joe Johnson demonstrates versatile skill and thoughtful sensitivity in both his playing and compositions. Currently under the tutelage of Terence Blanchard at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance, a highly-selective two-year fellowship program awarded to the most gifted young talents to study with the greatest living jazz masters, Joe has had the opportunity to work and play with such legends as Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, Brian Blade and Kurt Rosenwinkel. At only 25-years old, this Kansas City, Missouri native has already accrued an impressive playing history and can effortlessly move between genres. Within the past three years, Joe has performed and arranged jazz compositions for the world famous One O’Clock Lab Band at the University of North Texas, recorded with Christian pop singer Curtis Stephan, toured for one year with the country singing legend Ray Price, won Second Prize in the 2007 International Society of Bassists Jazz Solo Competition, and maintained a regular gig schedule in the Dallas area with his trio featuring the late tenor saxophone giant Marchel Ivery (Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers) and drummer Ahmad Medina. As a composer Joe has gained attention for his pieces Adonai (recorded for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s movie On the Shoulders of Giants) and Healing (featured on the One O’ Clock Lab Bands Lab 2007 CD). Comfortable with and interested in artistic diversity, Joe has also written a series of classical double bass duets and recently started a sound design business that focuses on creating commercial music and sound effects for television and film. Joe grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, eats Gates B-B-Q, and loves KU basketball.