About Me
Jazz guitarist Art Johnson, born in San Diego California in 1945, moved to Los Angeles in '68 and lived there for twenty two years. In that time,Art worked
in film and recording studios, and has participated on Grammy nominated and Academy award winning music.
Art has toured extensively in the U.S, Europe and Canada, performing in most major concert halls around the world including Carnagie Hall, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Sporting Club in Monte-Carlo and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
Art is currently splits his time performing steadily in clubs and concert halls and festival and teaching as time allows, between California and Nice, France. During the first quarter of the Millennium, January through March, 2000, Art presented a four part series on the “history of Jazz guitarâ€by request of the San Diego Museum of Art.
The successfully attended lecture/performance series also attracted such great jazz guitar heroes as, Barney Kessel and Oscar-Castro Neves , both of which attended several of the presentations.Art Johnson has performed or recorded with Tim Weisberg, Lena Horne, Tim Buckley, Paul Horn, Willie Bobo, Ray Pizzi, Shelley Manne, Papa John Creach, Eartha Kitt, Clarence White, O.C. Smith and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinsen, Allan Holdsworth and Mark O'connor, to name just a few. As a guitarist/vocalist with various performers including Lena Horne, his vocals have been described as……"a cross between Chet Baker and Jack Sheldon" (Jazz Times).As a composer, Art's instrumental compositions have been recorded by flautists, Paul Horn and Tim Weisberg. Known as the "Fusion Vunderkid" in Los Angeles during the late '60s and early '70s, Art was voted as the most promising jazz guitarist by Leonard Feather in Downbeat Magazine after his performance at the Monterey Jazz festival in l970. In 2002, "Vintage guitar magazine" referred to Art as "the complete guitarist" while reviewing Art's 'solo jazz guitar' cd produced by Barney Kessel. Art is known for his ability to play various styles of jazz, as "in" or "out" as you please..
