Marc Johnson

At the age of nineteen, Johnson played professionally in the Fort Worth Symphony.
During his studies at the University of North Texas he was part of the One O’Clock Lab Band, and is the principal bassist of the NTSU Symphony Orchestra.

In 1978, Johnson was recruited by pianist Bill Evans to replace Eddie Gomez, and alongside drummer Joe LaBarbera was part of Evans’ last trio.

That year, with Evans, Philly Joe Jones and Lee Konitz as guest of honor participates in Umbria Jazz.

Collaboration with Evans, both in the studio and on tour, would last until the pianist’s death in 1980. In 2007 he and his wife, pianist Eliane Elias, released the album Something for You, a tribute to Evans.

Subsequent to Evans, Johnson collaborated with numerous musicians, including Joe Lovano, Michael Brecker, Stan Getz, Bob Brookmeyer, Gary Burton, John Abercrombie, Bill Frisell, Pat Metheny, Eliane Elias, Enrico Pieranunzi, Joey Baron, Philly Joe Jones, Jack DeJohnette, Peter Erskine, Paul Motian, Steps Ahead, and John Lewis.

He has also released albums as a leader, starting with the Bass Desires project: a quartet with Bill Frisell and John Scofield on electric guitar, and Peter Erskine on drums.

Bass Desires gained international recognition following the release of two albums on the ECM label (Bass Desires and Second Sight) in the mid-1980s.

Instead, in 1998 he published Sound of Summer Running for Verve. In 2005 he released Shades of Jade, for ECM, with Joe Lovano on tenor saxophone, John Scofield on guitar, Eliane Elias on piano and Joey Baron on drums.

The album received numerous accolades: it was selected by Time for the October 17, 2005 release of 5 CDs That Really Swing, by the Chicago Tribune as one of the ten best jazz recordings of 2005, and also received the Danish Music Award for the best foreign release of 2005.

As a producer, Johnson wins two Grammy Awards for co-producing Eliane Elias’ albums Made in Brazil (2016) and Dance of Time (2017) for Concord Records.