Woodwinds
Aaron Johnson is available for remote recording and woodwind tracking in all styles of music, as well as live theater and concert work. His virtuosic instrumental versatility and stylistic flexibility make him a sought-after recording artist.
Doubles
Saxophones
- Soprano
- Alto
- Tenor
- Baritone
Flutes
- Piccolo
- Concert (C)
- Alto
- Bass
Clarinets
- E♭ sopranino
- B♭
- A
- Bass (to low C)
Double reeds & more
- Oboe
- Various recorders
Tracking samples
Recorded in Aaron’s Whisper Room isolation booth, retrofitted with recording equipment. Many musicians in the city don’t have a sound-treated room to record in.
Placeholder — audio samples have not been supplied yet. All 14 rows below are waiting on files. In the meantime, Aaron’s playing is on record, or he can send a reference for a specific instrument on request.
Soprano saxophone
Sample to come
Alto saxophone
Sample to come
Tenor saxophone
Sample to come
Baritone saxophone
Sample to come
Piccolo
Sample to come
Concert flute
Sample to come
Alto flute
Sample to come
Bass flute
Sample to come
E♭ clarinet
Sample to come
B♭ clarinet
Sample to come
A clarinet
Sample to come
Bass clarinet
Sample to come
Oboe
Sample to come
Recorder
Sample to come
The setup
Saxophones
- Soprano
- Yamaha Purple Label 62, Selmer Super Session F mouthpiece (refaced by Tommy Occhiuto), Ishimori gold plated ligature, Vandoren Blue Box reeds (strength 3).
- Alto
- Selmer Mark VI (short bow — 66xxx) with a 1930’s gold plated Selmer neck, Meyer Bros New York mouthpiece (refaced and modified by John Yoakum), Harrison gold plated ligature, Vandoren Java (#3) or D’Addario Jazz Select unfiled (3M).
- Tenor
- Selmer Mark VI (104xxx — neck modified by Tim Lin), Otto Link Florida No-USA Super Tone Master 7* (refaced by Tommy Occhiuto) with Selmer 404 ligature, or rubber No-USA Slant Signature 7 (also refaced by Tommy Occhiuto) with Selmer brass ligature. D’Addario Jazz Select unfiled (3M or 3H).
- Baritone
- Yamaha 62, H. Couf mouthpiece (refaced by Tommy Occhiuto to .110), D’Addario Jazz Select unfiled 3H.
Clarinets
- E♭ clarinet
- Yamaha 681iii, Paulus-Schuler zoom barrel, Fobes extension, James Kanter mouthpiece, Vandoren V12 reeds (3½). Extensive tuning work and key modifications by Wojtek Komsta.
- B♭ clarinet — recording and everything else
- Peter Eaton London (International model), circa 1920’s Melliphone mouthpiece (refaced, tuned and voiced by Ramon Wodkowski), ancient Bonade ligature.
- B♭ / A clarinet — classical
- A set of Buffet R13 clarinets with a Paulus-Schuler zoom barrel and the Melliphone mouthpiece.
- Bass clarinet
- Royal Global Max to low C with RG Firebird neck. Vandoren B40 mouthpiece (classical, recording, section) or Charles Bay MO-M (jazz). Vandoren leather ligature and Blue Box reeds (3½).
Flutes
- Piccolo
- 1920’s Haynes, or Yamaha 62 with wave headjoint.
- Concert
- Commercial Powell (heavy wall, open holes, low B, C♯ trill) or Sankyo (thin wall, closed hole, low C).
- Alto
- 1950’s Elkhart Artley (Haynes copy).
- Bass
- Robert Frank, serial number 1 — made for Peggy Lee, who gifted it to my teacher Matt Utal for use in her NBC specials in the 1960’s.
Recorders
- Recorders
- Yamaha boxwood recorders.
A note from Aaron
It is incredibly important to cultivate strong relationships with repair artists of the highest caliber to maintain, modify and restore your instruments as a woodwind player. I am honored to be a client of Tim Lin (saxophone repair/equipment), Wojtek Komsta (clarinet repair/modifications) and James Namkung (NK Flutes) and I wholeheartedly recommend their services to my colleagues and students. For mouthpiece craftspeople, I have worked with many but personally prefer the work of Tommy Occhiuto and John Yoakum to anything else I have found “on the scene”. Happy practicing and don’t forget to wet your reed!
Book a session
Remote tracking, theater dates, section work and concert engagements. Send the dates, the instrumentation and the deadline.