Randy Johnston (musician)

Randy Barksdale Johnston (born December 5, 1956) is an American jazz guitarist.

Randy Johnston
Birth nameRandy Barksdale Johnston
Born (1956-12-05) December 5, 1956
Detroit, Michigan
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsGuitar
Years active1981–present
LabelsMuse, J Curve, HighNote
Websiterandyjohnston.net

Career

The Beatles's performance on The Ed Sullivan Show inspired Johnston to start playing guitar in childhood.[1] He heard jazz for the first time on the album The Smithsonian Collection of Jazz and was influenced by guitarists Kenny Burrell and Grant Green.[1]

Johnston's family moved to Richmond, Virginia, when he was thirteen.[1][2] He was a member of rock bands that performed at parties and school dances.[1] In the late 1970s he attended the University of Miami, occasionally involved in jam sessions at a Unitarian Church with Ira Sullivan.[2] In the early 1980s he moved to New York City and worked with Warne Marsh, then as a sideman with Houston Person and Etta Jones.[1][2] Person produced his first album, Walk On, which was engineered by Rudy Van Gelder.[2] He has worked with Joey DeFrancesco, Lou Donaldson, Lee Konitz, and Lonnie Smith.[2]

Discography
  • Walk On (Muse, 1992)
  • Jubilation (Muse, 1994)
  • In-a-Chord (Muse, 1994)
  • Somewhere in the Night (HighNote, 1997)
  • Riding the Curve (J-Curve, 1998)
  • Homage (J-Curve, 2000)
  • Detour Ahead (HighNote, 2001)
  • Hit & Run (HighNote, 2002)
  • Is It You (HighNote, 2005)
  • People Music (Random Act, 2011)

As sideman

With Houston Person

With others

References
  1. Yanow, Scott (2013). The Great Jazz Guitarists. San Francisco: Backbeat. p. 103. ISBN 978-1-61713-023-6.
  2. Henderson, Alex. "Randy Johnston". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
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