Home » Jazz Musicians » Russ Johnson

Russ Johnson

Brooklyn based trumpeter Russ Johnson is an active performer in the jazz, improvised, and contemporary classical music scenes throughout the U.S. and abroad. In addition to leading his own groups, and co-leading The Other Quartet and New Math, Russ is currently touring as a member of Lee Konitz' new nonet and the Steve Swallow/Ohad Talmor "L'Histoire du Clochard" sextet. In addition, Russ has performed with a long list of musical heavyweights including; Kenny Wheeler, Bill Frisell, Joe Lovano, Richie Beirach, Mark Ribot, Charles Earland, David Liebman, Joe Maneri, The Jazz Passengers, Oliver Lake, Myra Melford, Anthony Davis, Mick Rossi, Elvis Costello, Debbie Harry, Michael Bublé, Curtis Fowlkes, Roy Nathanson, Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, Brian Blade, Dick Oatts, Aretha Franklin, Tony Malaby, Jenny Scheinman, and Mat Maneri.

Russ is also active as an educator/clinician, having taught at colleges and universities across the U.S. and in Europe. He is currently teaching at The Center for Preparatory Studies in Music (CPSM) at Queens College, and is a member of the faculty at the Maine Jazz Camp.

His new recording, Save Big has recently been released on the OmniTone label to enthusiastic reviews. It is available online at OmniTone and amazon.com, as well as at Tower Records and other jazz outlets.

Russ Johnson is an Endorsing Artist for New York Trumpet Company, and plays NYTC by Possegger Bb trumpet exclusively.

DISCOGRAPHY:

As a leader or co-leader:

Russ Johnson Quartet: Save Big (OmniTone) The Other Quartet: Sound Stains (Knitting Factory) The Other Quartet: 13 Pieces (Knitting Factory) Russ Johnson/Mick Rossi: New Math (ToneScience)

As a sideman:

Steve Swallow/Ohad Talmor 6tet: L'histoire du Clochard (The Bum's Tale) (Palmetto) Jenny Scheinman: The Rabbi's Lover (Tzadik Records) Jenny Scheinman: Shalagaster (Tzadik) Deidre Rodman: Simple Stories (Sunnyside) Deidre Rodman: Sun Is Us (Sunnyside) Mick Rossi: One Block from Planet Earth (OmniTone) Curtis Fowlkes: Reflect (Knitting Factory) Christof Knoche: Line Zero (OmniTone) Kris Davis: Lifespan (Fresh Sounds New Talent) Don Peretz: Foremen (Fresh Sound New Talent) New Talent Jazz Orchestra: The Sound of New York Jazz Underground (Fresh Sound New Talent) Roy Nathanson (featuring Elvis Costello & Debbie Harry): Fire at Keaton's Bar & Grill (Six Degrees) Nicolas Masson: Awake (Altrisuoni) Johnnie Valentino: Eight Shorts in Search of David Lynch (ToneScience)

Tags

9
Album Review

Chris Rottmayer: Being

Read "Being" reviewed by Jack Bowers


On Being, his fourth album as leader, Wisconsin-based pianist Chris Rottmayer has chosen to appraise the music of pianist Mulgrew Miller, as written for and performed by the Woody Shaw Quintet. Russ Johnson sits in for Shaw on trumpet and flugelhorn, while the celebrated bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Matt Endres round out the quartet's capable rhythm section. Half of the album's ten numbers arose from Rottmayer's study of Miller's work with Shaw; the other five are ...

3
Album Review

Chris Rottmayer: Being

Read "Being" reviewed by Troy Dostert


Pianist Chris Rottmayer has been a valued presence in the Madison, Wisconsin jazz scene for some time, both as a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin and as the leader of a couple of well-conceived albums. His Sunday at Pilars (Pilars, 2019) and So in Love (self-released, 2020) reveal a self-assured musician who can handle classic repertoire with authority. But his latest effort, Being, ups the ante by offering a collection of his own compositions, in this instance animated ...

Album Review

Ethan Philion: Meditations On Mingus

Read "Meditations On Mingus" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Questa rilettura del songbook mingusiano, conferma la potenza evocativa e l'attualità di quelle composizioni. La scelta da Ethan Philion ha privilegiato brani che testimoniamo l'impegno civile e politico del contrabbassista di Nogales e sono particolarmente d'attualità oggi. Il disco di apre con un brano dal titolo emblematico, “Once Upon A Time There Was A Holding Corporation Called Old America," che Charles Mingus non registrò mai in studio ma è presente nella registrazione live (a lungo introvabile) di At ...

25
Album Review

Dave Bayles Trio: Live at the Uptowner

Read "Live at the Uptowner" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Here's a rather unusual lineup for a trio: trumpet, bass and drums. Russ Johnson is the trumpeter, Clay Schaub the bassist, Dave Bayles the drummer and leader. That is rather like assembling the Gerry Mulligan quartet without inviting Mulligan. Bayles' trio was recorded live in February 2023 at the Uptowner nightclub in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it has a regular weekly gig. The concert, which lasts well over an hour, consists of five original compositions by Schaub, three ...

7
Album Review

Ethan Philion: Gnosis

Read "Gnosis" reviewed by John Chacona


When it comes to making memorable entrances, Ethan Philion is on a par with Seinfeld's Kramer. The jny: Chicago bassist burst into the scene with Meditations on Mingus (Sunnyside Records, 2022), an audacious debut recording on which he arranged familiar selections and deep cuts from the towering jazz bassist Charles Mingus. On Gnosis, the forces are smaller and perhaps so is the ambition of Philion's concept. Yet from the very first notes of “The Boot," which begins with a shriek ...

20
Album Review

Geof Bradfield Quintet: Quaver

Read "Quaver" reviewed by Jack Bowers


While tenor saxophonist Geof Bradfield's versatile Chicago-based quintet does not play “free jazz" on Quaver-- customary rhythmic and harmonic precepts underline every number--the music is explicitly adventurous and forward-looking, as Bradfield and his mates seize every chance to take flight within prescribed boundaries. All the compositions are Bradfield's, and they range from powerful to placid, none of which seems to faze any members of the group, three of whom --Bradfield, bassist Clark Sommers, drummer Dana Hall--have been ...

10
Album Review

Russ Johnson Quartet: Reveal

Read "Reveal" reviewed by Troy Dostert


While he has appeared on seemingly countless releases as a sideman, trumpeter Russ Johnson remains chronically under-recorded as a leader. It thus comes as a cause for rejoicing whenever one sees his name at the top of a release. Thankfully, Calligram Records has helped redress that problem with Reveal, Johnson's latest offering featuring a quartet with violinist Mark Feldman, bassist Ethan Philion and drummer Timothy Daisy. Geof Bradfield and Chad McCullough started Calligram with an eye toward showcasing some of ...

Read more articles

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Being

Shifting Paradigm Records
2024

buy

Reveal

Calligram Records
2023

buy

Quaver

Calligram Records
2023

buy

Gnosis

Sunnyside Records
2023

buy

Live at the Uptowner

Calligram Records
2023

buy

Meditations On Mingus

Sunnyside Records
2022

buy

Two Islands III

From: Atwood Suites
By Russ Johnson

Kattorna

From: Crazy Girl
By Russ Johnson

Similar

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.