Steve Johns (drummer)

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Steve Johns
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Background information
Born (1960-11-25) November 25, 1960 (age 64)
Boston, United States
Genres Jazz
Occupation(s)Musician, educator
InstrumentDrums
Website stevejohnsjazz.com

Stephen Samuel Johns (born November 25, 1960) is an American jazz drummer and educator.

Contents

Music career

Johns was born in Boston and started playing drums at the age of 9. [1] His mother Goldie composed music. He studied with Alan Dawson in 1977 and attended the New England Conservatory of Music from 1979 to 1982. As a student, he won the Outstanding Drummer Award at the Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival. In 1982, Johns moved to New York, where he played with John Hicks, Larry Coryell, Bobby Watson, Gary Bartz, Diane Schuur, Roy Hargrove, [2] Randy Brecker, Stanley Turrentine, [1] Thomas Chapin, and Benny Carter. He toured the US with the Count Basie Orchestra and Europe with the Gil Evans Orchestra and the Mingus Epitaph Orchestra conducted by Gunther Schuller. Johns played with George Russell's Living Time Orchestra from 1988 to 1993 and has been playing with the Mingus Big Band. [3] He played in the Billy Taylor Trio on Jazz At The Kennedy Center, the radio show hosted by Taylor, for five years. [4] More recently, he has played with Sonny Fortune and Bob DeVos. [1]

Johns has taught at several music colleges, schools and jazz centers. [5]

Reviewing his work on Shifting Sands and Playing For Keeps, David Orthman said: "Johns utilizes the drums and cymbals in something approximating an equal partnership... Changes in dynamics are frequent and unceremonious. A strong pocket is derived not only from the steady pulse of the ride cymbal, but from the manner in which he juxtaposes accents and patterns on the snare, bass, and tom toms." [6]

Personal life

Johns is married to tenor saxophonist Debbie Keefe. [7] Their son Daryl Johns is a jazz bassist. [5]

Selected discography

As leader

Collaborations

With Bob DeVos

  • Shifting Sands (Savant, 2006)
  • Playing for Keeps (Savant, 2007)
  • Shadow Box (American Showplace Music, 2013)

With Sonny Fortune

  • Continuum (Sound Reason, 2004)
  • You and the Night and the Music (18th & Vine, 2007)
  • Last Night at Sweet Rhythm (Sound Reason, 2009)

As sideman

With Mario Pavone

With Gary Smulyan

With Jessye Norman

With Thomas Chapin

With Alan Rosenthal

With Leon Thomas and Gary Bartz

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Drummer's style makes him in demand by bands". NJ.com. May 22, 2008.
  2. ↑ "Sonny Fortune Quartet At Sweet Rhythm". All About Jazz. April 2, 2004.
  3. ↑ Carr, Ian (2004). The Rough Guide to Jazz . London: Rough Guides. pp.  408–9. ISBN   1-84353-256-5.
  4. ↑ Modern Drummer, Volume 23. Modern Drummer Publications. 1999. pp. 408–9.
  5. 1 2 "Daryl Johns Trio w/ Orrin Evans "Saluting Erroll Garner's Concert By The Sea"". Litchfield Jazz Festival. 2016.
  6. ↑ "Steve Johns With The Bob DeVos Organ Trio". All About Jazz. July 29, 2010.
  7. ↑ Gourse, Leslie (1996). Madame Jazz: Contemporary Women Instrumentalists . New York: Oxford University Press. pp.  236. ISBN   0195355555.
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