Alex Newman sat down with the accomplished saxophone player to talk about his journey from his musical upbringing to his winding path from Chicago to Los Angeles and all the collaborators he found along the way– particularly his solo excursions and what to expect from his upcoming performances at the Pickathon festival on his own as well as with the group SML.
0:00 - Josh Johnson’s musical beginnings and path from piano to saxophone
5:00 - Realising in childhood that his life’s medium of expression would be music and the first jazz albums his parents bought him
7:30 - Public school music education and self directed exploration
12:30 - Moving from Chicago to LA, the connection between the cities, and learning from heros
17:10 - What it means to be a musical director and how he ended up being the MD for Leon Bridges
22:20 - Producing for MeShell N’degOcello’s The Omnichord Real Book and producing in general
26:55 - The importance of playing with the Jeff Parker 4tet at Los Angeles’ dearly departed ETA
28:20 - The creation of Johnson’s first album, 2020’s Freedom Exercise
31:00 - Solo processes and experimentation on Johnson’s latest album, 2024’s Unusual Object
32:45 - How Johnson’s solo performances “clarified the direction” of Unusual Object
37:00 – What to expect from Johnson’s upcoming Pickathon performance