About

Widely acknowledged as a stalwart millennial presence on the New York Jazz scene for nearly two decades, Aaron Johnson’s multifaceted career as a freelance musician in America’s cultural capital has stretched from the Jazz clubs of Greenwich Village (Johnson has held a half-decade Sunday night residency at the historic and renowned Smalls Jazz Club) to professional work as a multi-woodwind artist whose live concert and orchestral experience reaches from Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Opera to Broadway and Off-Broadway orchestra pits. (For more details regarding Aaron’s work as a woodwind doubler, see woodwinds.)

Johnson is also in-demand as recording artist/studio musician and has found him — at 35 years old — appearing as a soloist, sideman or leader on over 20 albums including recent radio-charting Jazz records on notable labels such as ESP-Disk (with Allen Lowe), Mack Avenue (Veronica Swift’s This Bitter Earth) and Cellar Live (Dwayne Clemons: Center of Gravity). With pianist Gregory Chen, Aaron is a co-founder of NYC Jazz label Boptimist Records, which distributes his catalogue as a solo artist. (For the full discography.)

A highly sought after teacher of Clarinet, Saxophone and Flute, Johnson teaches privately at the New School and out of his home studio in Ridgewood, Queens. For more information on Aaron’s teaching and the unique concepts on woodwind playing which he has become known for — as well as details regarding his own musical education and history — see teaching.