Openness Trio marks the first major release for the small group of L.A. musicians Nate Mercereau, Josh Johnson and Carlos Niño, as well as a significant milepost for the drifty, electronics-infused style of jazz they favor, appearing on the storied Blue Note label, once a haven of the old guard. Meditative, vibrant and lush, Openness Trio reenvisions the crystalline perfume of West Coast New Age not as daffy escapism but as the transcendental successor to avant-garde spiritual jazz. Equal parts incense and neon, it’s a testament to a place and a sound that sees the geographic and sonic realms as eternally impermanent and always incomplete.
Category: Josh Johnson
Uhlmann Johnson Wilkes
In the latest permutation of the adventurous L.A. jazz group SML, guitarist Gregory Ulhmann and saxophonist Josh Johnson are joined by bassist Sam Wilkes, for an album that both deepens and expands the SML project. Looking back to bebop and drifting through post-rock, with pit stops at Jaco Pastorius, Lyle Mays and the Beatles, Uhlmann/Johnson/Wilkes is unafraid to embrace the beautiful, even as it remains committed to experimentation and smooth radicalism.
Josh Johnson :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Saxophonist Josh Johnson’s name pops up in a wealth of interesting places: he’s collaborated with everyone from Meshell Ndegeocello to stadium rockers Red Hot Chili Peppers. He joins us to discuss his jazz fusion epic, Unusual Object and other musical adventures.